Teens given slap on wrist for homophobic Twitter rant at Albion fans

9:57am Wednesday 22nd August 2012 in News By Bill Gardner

Sussex Police has been criticised after three teenagers were let off with a lecture for sending homophobic messages about Albion fans on Twitter.

Seagulls supporters complained to officers after the three Crystal Palace fans sent a stream of “vile and explicit” tweets earlier this month.

The three boys, aged 15 and 16 from London, were identified by Sussex Police football liaison officer PC Darren Balkham, who said he would be visiting the boys’ parents rather than arresting the teenagers.

In March Chief Supt Graham Bartlett and Brighton and Hove City Council announced a “zero tolerance” policy on homophobic abuse in Brighton and Hove.

Chris Cooke, chairman of the city’s LGBT Community Safety Forum, described the decision not to arrest the boys as “a weak response”.

He said: “We are supposed to be zero tolerance in this city but the police are clearly taking a softly-softly approach.

“If these had been racist messages then there would have been arrests rather than a slap on the wrist.

“We have got to be tough and we have got to send a clear message that homophobic behaviour is clearly unacceptable.”

In November 2011 two Southampton fans were arrested after allegedly singing offensive anti-gay chants during an Albion match and in July a 17-year-old was arrested for sending offensive messages to Olympic diver Tom Daley.

PC Darren Balkham said the decision to visit the boys’ parents rather than make arrests in this case was “the best way forward”.

He said: “We had one victim who was especially distressed by what was said and she said community resolution was the way to deal with this.

“The victim was a lady who had been bullied as a child. She was very upset by the homophobic tweets.

“Arresting them would leave them with a possible criminal record and maybe ruin their lives, all for the sake of complete ignorance and stupidity.

“I would have done exactly the same thing if it was a racist tweet.

“I’d be ashamed if I was a parent and police came round my house because my lad had been abusing people.”

Were you one of the fans targeted by the homophobic abuse? Call the newsdesk on 01273 544 531.

Comments(43)

tooned_in says...
10:04am Wed 22 Aug 12

surely racism & homophobic comments both fall under the same bracket of predjudism, some young men think its macho & cool to be homophobic but thankfully this isnt a view shared by the majority

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mtmoocher says...
10:12am Wed 22 Aug 12

Is there a case for the compulsory attendance & satisfactory passing of an awareness course? All at their own expense naturally. Maybe even a one-day workshop at their schools with them helping?
They have done this sort of thing with speeding & reduced bans for drink-driving & it seems to have had an impact on recidivism.

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JaseBHA says...
10:28am Wed 22 Aug 12

Since there's every possibility that bigoted, ignorant teenagers get their attitudes in part from their parents, I fail to see what good a home visit is going to do unless you're able to establish with complete certainty that their parents do not share those views. Otherwise you're basically letting them off entirely.

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Archie Bun says...
11:30am Wed 22 Aug 12

When you get top ranking football players with homophobic and racist behaviour then it's no surprise the fans think it is fine.

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NickBrt says...
11:33am Wed 22 Aug 12

If the comments had been made against a certain Religion beginning with the letter M there would have been an outcry from Liberty, Government, Caroline Lucas etc. It seems it's Ok to say vile comments about gay people with impunity.

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Alan G Skinner says...
11:39am Wed 22 Aug 12

Far too lenient, this was a vile hate crime and a custodial sentance was the appropriate punishment. Abusing a minority group like Albion fans is exactly the same as abusing or inciting hatred againt any other group on account of their race, religion, political persuation or sexual orientation.

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Crystal Ball says...
11:48am Wed 22 Aug 12

NickBrt wrote:
If the comments had been made against a certain Religion beginning with the letter M there would have been an outcry from Liberty, Government, Caroline Lucas etc. It seems it's Ok to say vile comments about gay people with impunity.
Surely not the Moomins? Or do you mean the Morons, I mean Mormons?

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Poccypoc says...
11:57am Wed 22 Aug 12

These kids should be made to publicly apologise to Albion fans before the next Amex game - on the PA, standing on the pitch. Also banned from Selhurst Park.

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BornInBrighton1968 says...
12:08pm Wed 22 Aug 12

Crystal Ball wrote:
NickBrt wrote:
If the comments had been made against a certain Religion beginning with the letter M there would have been an outcry from Liberty, Government, Caroline Lucas etc. It seems it's Ok to say vile comments about gay people with impunity.
Surely not the Moomins? Or do you mean the Morons, I mean Mormons?
I think the religion he is talking about starts with an 'I', and ends with and 'M'.

And yes, 'Brussels' Lucas, Kitcat and all the other Green loons would be screaming blue murder if this particular religion had been vilified...

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NickBrt says...
12:14pm Wed 22 Aug 12

Thanks Born in Brighton, you're quite right, my error! And let's not even imagine Caroline's wrath if the comments had been made about her favourite group of people with alternative dwelling establishments. (Am I allowed to say that on this site without Jo Wadsworth blowing a gasket?)

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mtmoocher says...
12:17pm Wed 22 Aug 12

mmm. Theoism now that's an interesting concept. Not sure what the Greens have to do with the argument though but keep up the rant!

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NickBrt says...
12:20pm Wed 22 Aug 12

I think the first letter is 'I' not 'T', have you been to Specsavers recently?!

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Billyboyarnold says...
12:27pm Wed 22 Aug 12

PC Darren B, you have let the fans down big style.

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BornInBrighton1968 says...
12:33pm Wed 22 Aug 12

NickBrt wrote:
Thanks Born in Brighton, you're quite right, my error! And let's not even imagine Caroline's wrath if the comments had been made about her favourite group of people with alternative dwelling establishments. (Am I allowed to say that on this site without Jo Wadsworth blowing a gasket?)
Sorry, no; if you mention gyp*ies (sorry, trave*lers) in the Argus, an alarm bell goes off at Green party HQ. Kitcat and Duncan head off in an electric car (2mph so it'll take a while to get to you), kick-in your front door and drag you off to a 're-education' camp

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mtmoocher says...
12:43pm Wed 22 Aug 12

NickBrt wrote:
I think the first letter is 'I' not 'T', have you been to Specsavers recently?!
On reflection you are correct. I didn't realise the irony of your rantings until you informed me that "ignoramus" was actually a religion! lol

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chrisso says...
12:56pm Wed 22 Aug 12

I'm not really sure that being stupid and ignorant should be a criminal offence.

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holly1977 says...
1:06pm Wed 22 Aug 12

My understanding of Community Resolutions are that you can only get one, If the victim agrees its the best way to deal with it, and the offender admits the offence. They must also have never been in trouble before. Its as good as formal reprimand/warning, but stops them from ruining future career chances when older, for e.g some Uni's wont accept Police Cautions, and are we not now encouraging young people to understand their actions and give them a chance to change for the better?, rather than blocking up a legal system?
Surely we want to encourage young people do get an education, good job and contribute to society? and a foolish, ill thought twitter comment as a juvenile can stop all that if cautioned or convicted. At the end of the day they sound like they have admitted the guilt.
And the person affected by the insults is happy for this way of dealing with the matter, surely the needs and feelings of the victim are important here?

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NickBrt says...
1:10pm Wed 22 Aug 12

Help Help Help Jason and Duncan are banging my door down, like BornInBrighton said would happen! Shall I pretend I am crazy enough to be a Green supoprter, will they go away then?

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BornInBrighton1968 says...
1:56pm Wed 22 Aug 12

Yes, just tell them that you think that the Greens are doing a great job, and that you are looking forward to them bringing in their proposed once-a-month refuse collection and 10mph speed limit in Brighton. Also tell them that you fully support their policies regarding gypsies, squatters and violent Smash EDO demos.

That should keep them from dragging you off for 're-education'!

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PorkBoat says...
2:57pm Wed 22 Aug 12

Some words on a screen. Get over it. No blood was shed, no one was hurt. Are they going to arrest 1000 away fans for singing "Does your boyfriend know you're here?". People are spineless and weak these days, as far as I'm aware, there are no laws against "banter" or "hurting someones feelings". Grow up. Man up. Give back as good as you get.

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CDL1 says...
3:11pm Wed 22 Aug 12

Had they have been arrested there would have been cries of an over reaction instead. A lose lose situation for the police I feel!

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seagullsovergrimsby says...
3:35pm Wed 22 Aug 12

No need for arrests , they are already being punished by living in South London and tagged as Crystal Palace fans

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hubby says...
4:19pm Wed 22 Aug 12

Probably went to the same school as John Terry.

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Wendywoodlandh says...
4:54pm Wed 22 Aug 12

Let's face it getting of scot free what will happen next match ??? Should have had no rights to any more football matches hit were it hurts and may be it will teach them a leson hopefully as it is only the being of the season,

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Wendywoodlandh says...
4:54pm Wed 22 Aug 12

Let's face it getting of scot free what will happen next match ??? Should have had no rights to any more football matches hit were it hurts and may be it will teach them a leson hopefully as it is only the being of the season,

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BiggerH says...
4:59pm Wed 22 Aug 12

I assume Twitter makes users agree to something like 'if you're semi-famous and decide to open a Twitter account, don't be surprised if people say mean things to you - it is the internet after all'.

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BornInBrighton1968 says...
5:10pm Wed 22 Aug 12

BiggerH wrote:
I assume Twitter makes users agree to something like 'if you're semi-famous and decide to open a Twitter account, don't be surprised if people say mean things to you - it is the internet after all'.
I agree; some kind of proviso when you sign up for a Twitter account that says "Everything you Tweet will be available for millions of people to read..."

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davyboy says...
5:34pm Wed 22 Aug 12

PorkBoat wrote:
Some words on a screen. Get over it. No blood was shed, no one was hurt. Are they going to arrest 1000 away fans for singing "Does your boyfriend know you're here?". People are spineless and weak these days, as far as I'm aware, there are no laws against "banter" or "hurting someones feelings". Grow up. Man up. Give back as good as you get.
couldn't agree more. it isn't nice to have things said about you, but they are only words. had they gone out and beaten some homosexuals up, then completely different matter, but you don't have to read what is written. people will complain about anything nowadays, just to get some compensation. yes, it was a stupid thing to do, and banning them is probably a good thing, but will they learn? i doubt it

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keswick says...
7:14pm Wed 22 Aug 12

If the FA are serious about stamping out homophobia then they should ban them from every football ground in the country for at least five years. C P hould take the lead and ban them with immediate effect.

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Morpheus says...
7:27pm Wed 22 Aug 12

We really do need to introduce thoughtcrime without delay.

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boo2005 says...
5:40am Thu 23 Aug 12

chrisso wrote:
I'm not really sure that being stupid and ignorant should be a criminal offence.
it wouldn't be possible to enforce a law against stupidity and ignorance because the police's whole time would be taken up with arresting people!

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Old Ladys Gin says...
7:56am Thu 23 Aug 12

So much for freedom of speech.
If people are prevented from saying things, no matter how unpleasant, then how can they be argued against.
Nobody has a right not to be offended.

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college says...
8:33am Thu 23 Aug 12

chrisso wrote:
I'm not really sure that being stupid and ignorant should be a criminal offence.
let's face it, if it were a crime all our political parties - local government offices and councils would be decimated in an instant - that's why it's off the statute books.

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Morpheus says...
9:06am Thu 23 Aug 12

Strange that anything goes when it comes to comments about travellers.

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Old Ladys Gin says...
9:56am Thu 23 Aug 12

I'd want to hear clearly and loudly what all homophobics/racists/
fascists (of all kinds) religious people/atheists etc etc have to say.
If not how can any useful debate or argument happen?
I will then also know whose mind can be changed and who not to waste my time with as their views are so deep set.
It really would make things so much more easy and I wonder this legislation has not been challanged in a substantial manner.

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Fairfax Sakes says...
10:02am Thu 23 Aug 12

Alan G Skinner wrote:
Far too lenient, this was a vile hate crime and a custodial sentance was the appropriate punishment. Abusing a minority group like Albion fans is exactly the same as abusing or inciting hatred againt any other group on account of their race, religion, political persuation or sexual orientation.
A minority group lol:) Yes, that struggle against opression in league one, the 40 years in the wilderness (Withdean), before finally Reverend Poyet led his people to salvation and one day we will reach the promised land.
'I have dream!'

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PorkBoat says...
4:24pm Thu 23 Aug 12

What happened to my second post? I thought it was a great idea.

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Sarah Booker says...
5:16pm Thu 23 Aug 12

PorkBoat wrote:
What happened to my second post? I thought it was a great idea.
It was removed because it contained profanity.

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Old Ladys Gin says...
12:59pm Fri 24 Aug 12

I am really pleased for you that you have exercised your freedom of speech.
If you hadn't done that a lot of people would not have understood what a truly awful person you are.
Thank you very much.

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Old Ladys Gin says...
1:52pm Fri 24 Aug 12

I've run out of troll food mate..

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High Wire says...
2:30pm Fri 24 Aug 12

Old Ladys Gin wrote:
I've run out of troll food mate..
Dradford has all the food he / she needs quoting extreme American 'conservative' views; a slightly narrow reading range if you want to actually understand a subject. . (actually no, can't be bothered, I'm off to enjoy my weekend with rational people)

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spider72 says...
3:27pm Fri 24 Aug 12

Billyboyarnold wrote:
PC Darren B, you have let the fans down big style.
What you need to remember is that Mr. Balkham can claim some expenses for going up there to speak to the parents. Be able to get a few pies and chocolate

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PorkBoat says...
7:44pm Sat 25 Aug 12

http://takimag.com/a
rticle/reducing_hate
_by_restoring_tolera
nce_robert_weissberg
/print

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