What is it with footballers and this, apparently inherent, desire they have to use your sexuality as a slur against your good name? Well justice has finally been served as Leicester City player Michael Ball was fined £6,000 by the FA this week, for his anti-gay tweets towards poor Anthony Cotton from Corrie.
According to the Daily Mirror the fine is the highest of its kind handed down to a player for a homophobic incident. I’d like to think this hefty fine will act as a deterrent to other footballers. But knowing the ludicrous amounts of money these chumps get paid for playing a recreational game, I doubt it will. He probably found that 6 grand down the back of his (very expensive but lacking in all kinds of taste) sofa.
The tweets in question involved Corrie’s head gay, Anthony Cotton. Who was mincing around the jungle on I’m A Celebrity last year when it happened.
I’m guessing Ball wasn’t a fan of Cotton on the show and tweeted: “That fucking queer. Get back to your sewing machine in Corrie, you moaning bastard.”
Now, I don’t watch Corrie (Enders all the way) so I’m not entirely sure if the sewing machine comment is yet another dig at his masculinity, or Cotton’s character works as some sort of dress maker in the show?
It would seem Ball isn’t the only one who enjoys terrorizing Anthony Cotton via Twitter. One (highly intelligent) female tweeter posted this on the site during 2011: “I hope you get AIDS and die you freak.”
I wonder what televisual gay high jinks Cotton had been up to, that warped her mind into thinking posting THAT on Twitter, for the entire world to see, was a good idea?
Cotton, not wanting to be dragged down to her level, responded: “I think we should report this one to the police.”
That’s very big of Cotton, if it was me I would have made some catty comments about how she looks like a pi- “Don’t worry tweeps – I’m not upset! She looks like Worzel Gummidge!” Cotton went on to tweet… Ahh there we go… Ever the big man.
While it is completely unacceptable and outrageous that people think they can get away with putting homophobic comments on social media sites… I do wonder if the comments aren’t really about Cotton being gay, but more about him being an annoying, whiny shit. I would suggest that in the future, if you are planning on berating Cotton via Twitter, Don’t go for the easy option and attack his sexuality. You will only look like the bigoted, Neanderthal pleb that you probably are.
Craig Ford
(Follow Craig on Twitter: @craigyboy84 @GayNetworkChat)