The response to phase 1 has been terrific (over 2000 replies). The initial response from Coventry fans was probably the most we received in terms of one club. We are now moving into phase 2 of the research.
This is in response to the Premier League dropping a campaign on this issue and Max Clifford claiming that 'football is steeped in homophobia'. We want to assess how fans feel about this. Gordon Taylor, the chief of the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), has replied to the interim results of the topfan online survey of fans' views on homophobia and gay players and we are happy to set the facts straight. Mr Taylor writes: "Never at any time have I withdrawn support for an anti homophobia campaign and in fact quite the opposite." As an organization, the PFA states: "We welcome the opportunity to lead the field in this area, as we have done with racism ... we do not have any members of the PFA who have openly declared they are gay. If a player approached us regarding this matter there are support mechanisms in place to ensure the player has the full support of the Association."
Check www.topfan.co.uk for the full statement, latest results and make your contribution to Phase 2 of the project. Here are a couple of recent newspaper stories on the research: http://bit.ly/blCH5n (The Yorkshire Post) and http://bit.ly/doJTbY (The Sunday Herald).
Jamie Cleland, former Coventry City and Coventry Sphinx goalkeeper