Women’s soccer stars announce pregnancy, team makes statement about alleged ‘harassment’ days later
Pro women’s soccer players Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis, who are in a same-sex relationship, announced that Mewis is pregnant with their first child in an Instagram post on Sunday.
Just one day later, Kerr’s club, Chelsea FC, issued a statement addressing the “harassment” the players received after the announcement.
“There is no place in society for any kind of discrimination and we will not accept any harassment directed at our players, staff or fans,” the statement read, per Reuters. “We are very proud to be a diverse, inclusive club that celebrates and welcomes people from all cultures, communities and identities.”
Chelsea women’s team manager Sonia Bompastor addressed the allegations at a press conference on Tuesday.
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Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis watch during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Manchester City FC at Stamford Bridge on August 18, 2024 in London, England. (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
“This is not acceptable to have this kind of comment, especially in our world in 2024,” said Bompastor in a press conference ahead of Chelsea’s game against Celtic in the Women’s Champions League. “That’s just crazy, I mean how can people act like this.”
During the team’s press conference on Tuesday, the manager of women’s football in England, Sarina Wiegman, was also asked about the alleged attack on the journalist.
“It’s very disappointing,” Wiegman said of the abuse allegations.
The first post announcing the pregnancy now blocks any new comments. However, previous post comments remain.
Many comments under this post are asking who the father of the child is. Many of the responses to those comments brought up the possibility of IVF, while others criticized users for even asking the question.
International soccer organizations have made many efforts to combat homophobia among fans of the game over the years.
THE WOMEN’S NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE IS FACED WITH THE LAW AS A FORMER EMPLOYEE DIES FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT.
In May, France’s sports minister called for Monaco football club to be punished after one of its players, Mohamed Camara, applied for registration. LGBTQ support message on his jersey during the team’s last league game.
French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra called Mohamad Camara’s actions “unacceptable” and a “strong punishment” for the player and the club.
Camara, who is Muslim, covered the badge with white tape and refused to take part in a pre-match photo in front of a banner with the same message.
“Homophobia is not an idea, it is a crime,” said Aurore Bergé, the French minister of equality. wrote to X. “And the hatred of gays kills. There must be a strong punishment for Mohamed Camara.”
Camara has missed the first four games of this year’s Ligue de Football Professionnel season.
In October, a German expert football club The VfL Wolfsburg player targeted Kevin Behrens after he refused to write on a gay pride shirt and made homophobic comments to a fan who requested it.
The player reportedly refused to sign a Wolfsburg shirt with the team’s rainbow logo LGBTQ pride the flag. Behrens is also said to have said, “I will not sign that gay [crap],” according to multiple reports.
Behrens has apologized for the incident.
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Kristie Mewis of the United States welcomes Sam Kerr of Australia after the Olympic soccer bronze medal match between the United States and Australia at Kashima Stadium on August 05, 2021 in Kashima, Ibaraki , in Japan. (Zhizhao Wu/Getty Images)
In 2021, all fans of Mexico’s national team were banned from attending the team’s World Cup qualifiers after fans used a Spanish chant that included a word considered gay. The team was forced to play their home playoff games in an empty stadium and had to pay a $73,000 fine.
Mexican Football Federation President Yon De Luisa acknowledged that the song was a long-standing tradition at the club when he addressed the fan ban at a press conference that summer.
“For many years, that was our debate in the Mexican federation,” De Luisa said. “That’s not a debate anymore. If it’s discrimination, we should avoid it.”
FIFA announced his disciplinary code to combat offensive chants in July 2019. According to the law, officials are expected to give one warning to spectators if offensive chants are used, but if they continue, the officials must stop the game, and the players are sent to the locker room.
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