HotScots FC, Edinburgh's LGBTQ+ Football Club
- Kieran Webster
- May 5, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: May 8, 2020
Usually, when I arrange interviews, I would suggest meeting in a café, a bar, or anywhere really. Certainly not somewhere in my living room over a hundred miles away. But that’s what coronavirus has caused. After carefully selecting the best place in the house for internet, and after a few technical hiccups, I finally managed to speak to Gregor McMurtie, first-team coach of HotScots FC, Scotland’s oldest, and Edinburgh’s only LGBTQ+ football team.
Gregor, a Dundee United fan, was looking to join a football club around five years ago when he moved back up from London. He’d heard about clubs in London like Stonewall FC (London’s most successful LGBTQ+ team) and found something similar in HotScots.
“I played in a team in London which was a child out a bunch of mates. We were all Dundee Utd supporters so there was a lot of comradery and friendship connected to the team, rather than a competitive edge.
“I was looking for something similar, so I emailed HotScots and joined up. It was all straightforward, and I was told to come along for training on a Wednesday.”
The warm welcome is something that HotScots look to give all new members, with an emphasis on making sure there is something for everyone in the club.
“We are a team for everyone, LGBTQ+ and straight, we make everyone feel as welcome as possible."
“It’s not a clique. If anyone’s new the first thing we do is to introduce them and get everyone chatting to them. “I had a couple of guys from my gym come and they said it’s the most inclusive clubs they’ve been to because everyone spoke to them, not just one or two.” HotScots currently compete in a grassroots league for inclusive teams. The GFSN (Gay Football Supporters Network) which includes teams from London and Glasgow and gives the HotScots the chance to play around the country.
“Going to another teams city usually means an overnight stay or two, so you get to know a lot of different people in different cities and see other parts of the UK scene. “It’s a big element of the GFSN and a lot of people enjoy it. “In years gone by, the away trips have probably hit HotScots legend with some of the shenanigans people have got up to!” The GFSN is currently endorsed by the FA, who have made significant progress in speaking out against homophobia, with the SFA also making campaigns like football vs homophobia to try and make clear that it has no part to play in the game. Gregor feels such campaigns help but more needs to be done.
“I think they certainly help as it raises the issue to a wider issue, but it would be good if they backed this up with more lifetime bans. “Racial abuse has been deemed completely inappropriate with people being banned for life and taken to court, homophobic abuse hasn’t seemed to reach the same level. “On the streets, it’s regarded as a hate crime, it should be regarded as the same for football fans.
“Calling someone from the stand ‘gay’ or a ‘poofter’ isn’t acceptable, it should be brought to the same level as a hate crime.”
"Calling someone from the stand 'gay' or 'poofter' isn't acceptable."
Gregor also reckons that by setting a standard with homophobia, it could help tackle issues like sectarianism and that by strongly enforcing punishments for homophobia and racism, people might take the SFA’s stance to sectarianism more seriously He also thinks we should be careful how we approach the possibility of a professional male player coming out and not to put pressure on individuals, but that they would be met with acceptance. “I think football’s ready for it, but it puts massive pressure on somebody. “To put pressure on somebody like that probably isn’t the most helpful, it would probably take a group of three or four players to take the pressure off, and you’d probably find once one or two do it, a lot more will follow.” Health is one of the main reasons people join the club, but it’s also one of the reasons that games have had to stop. COVID 19 is impacting every club at every level. “It’s knackered the rest of our season!
“We got to a play of for the bottom teams in the league that would’ve involved a trip to Manchester or Cardiff. Had we won that a trip to Birmingham, that’s not happening.
“It’s a blow to us not to have a finish to the season but it gives us the prospect of having some Summer games should things ease off like in China in some nicer weather.” The break has also given HotScots to think about their next moves as a club. “Teams are tackling homophobia, and we’re now finding it difficult to recruit people because other teams are becoming more inclusive, especially young people at university age who’ve grown up with things being more normal. “Also, how the GFSN works, games can be every four or six weeks, so it’s tricky for people to get it in their diaries. “We’re looking into the option of setting up our own league, with four or five teams from here, Newcastle and Glasgow to give us eight or ten games a season in a more organised structure. “The lack of structure has made it difficult for people to commit to games. Sometimes we get a game for two weeks and people had already made plans and you end up having to cancel which is frustrating.” The amount of work the club has done for the LGBTQ+ community in Edinburgh hasn’t gone unnoticed, recently winning GiffGaff’s unsung hero’s award. Gregor says these things mean a lot to the club. “People don’t do these things for the recognition, but to be recognised heightens you within the LGBTQ+ community because you are raising the flag for people who are marginalised in society. “It shows we have a progressive well-run club that’s inclusive and a safe space for people. “We spread if you’re gay lesbian, trans or any label if you can play football, it doesn’t matter.”
To find out more about HotScots, Click here
Full interview below:
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