An explosion of incidents at Premier League and FA Cup games has brought the homophobic 'rent boy' chant back into public attention.
The chant is aimed at players and managers who are linked with Chelsea and has been heard at three separate games in January. The FA is investigating the singing of the chant at Nottingham Forest's game with Chelsea, Everton's defeat to Manchester United, where it was directed at Blues legend Frank Lampard, and Manchester City's win over Chelsea.
A Liverpool fan was also recently fined after being charged with a homophobic hate crime for singing it at the FA Cup final last May. And it was also allegedly heard on Sunday as Tottenham beat Chelsea, with Spurs confirming one fan had been arrested for homophobic chanting.
Many supporters do not understand why the chant is viewed as being homophobic by the LGBT+ community, the Crown Prosecution Service and the FA. But Tracy Brown, chair of Chelsea's LGBT+ supporters group Chelsea Pride, has insisted that the homophobic nature of the chant is clear to see.
And she is keen to educate supporters about what the 'Rent Boy' chant actually means.
"There's lots of people who see it as banter and don't really realise we are talking about a rent boy being someone who is paid to have sex with another man. Obviously when you read, lots of people don't see it that way," Brown told Mirror Football.
"They think it's a man who's paid to have sex with anyone. But it isn't. And actually, it goes back to many moons ago and Earl's Court being a well-known area for male sex workers and it had a very large gay scene.
"So, obviously anything related to that is almost an attack on the fact that you're a rent boy. You are attacking the gay community in that sense, because you are almost mocking that."
Brown has little time for those who claim hearing the chant does not offend them. Instead, she encouraged others to be empathetic towards the LGBT+ community, who have been facing a rising tide of homophobia.
"We've had people, not only from Chelsea, who have heard this consistently over the years which has kept them away from football. Because at the end of the day, there's so many different versions about where this story comes from," Brown added.
"But it is homophobic. It's classed as a homophobic hate crime by the CPS and at the end of the day, we have to see it that way. Whether people agree with it or not, whether it offends them or not, that's another matter.
"It's respecting people within our community. I've even had arguments with some of our own fans who are like 'well it doesn't offend me'. If you're a white, straight man, it's not going to affect you.
"But that isn't the point. The point is it's seen as being homophobic, it is homophobic and the CPS can charge it as a hate crime."
