Liverpool kicked off their Premier League campaign with a 3-0 win over Norwich City but the sweetness of that victory was marred by the homophobic chants directed towards Billy Gilmour.
The midfielder is on loan to Norwich City from Chelsea and he was making his debut for the Canaries this weekend. But during the match, a section of the travelling fans targetted him with the “rent boy” chant.
Billy Gilmour did not have the best of outings in the middle of the pitch as Liverpool completely outplayed Norwich City throughout the 90 minutes. But this silly act from a few Liverpool supporters have once again tarnished the image of a Premier League side.
What chants were directed at Billy Gilmour?
Billy Gilmour was subjected to chants of “rent boy” – something which the Chelsea players and supporters have been hearing from opposition fans for some time now.
Back in 2019, anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out had made it pretty clear that this specific chant was homophobic.
"We are absolutely clear: the 'rent boy' chant is homophobic and must be treated as such."
Our statement calling for more action from The @FA and Police following a number of reports about homophobic chanting by Liverpool supporters towards Chelsea fans on Sunday 👇 #KickItOut pic.twitter.com/d4BOBBiU1A
— Kick It Out (@kickitout) April 17, 2019
How have Liverpool responded?
Liverpool have been swift to come out and condemn this behaviour saying: “The chant is offensive and inappropriate – a message we have repeatedly communicated alongside Kop Outs. We urge supporters to remember the inclusive values of the club and to refrain from using it in the future.”
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And even Liverpool’s LGBT+ group have put out some strong words against these chants.
They wrote: “Great result today marred by homophobic chanting by some of our fans targeting Chelsea loanee Billy Gilmour. If you can’t support without resorting to bigoted nonsense, you don’t understand YNWA [You’ll Never Walk Alone].”
Great result today marred by homophobic chanting by some of our fans targeting Chelsea loanee Billy Gilmour. If you can't support without resorting to bigoted nonsense, you don't understand YNWA. https://t.co/McUxyjbQhw
— Kop Outs! 🌈⚽🏳️🌈 (@LFC_LGBT) August 14, 2021
The youngster is one of the rising talents in the Premier League so he already has a lot of pressure on his shoulders.
Now, the last thing he needs is to be subject to such vile chants, especially when he is making his debut for a totally new side.
