Declaring today July 13, a “Day Against Discrimination,” the global gay rights group AllOut.org will hold flashmob dance in front of the Frankfurt Football stadium before the opening whistle of the FIFA Women’s World Cup semi-final.

AllOut also launched a petition urging suspensions for any and all FIFA football coaches who discriminate against LGBT players. AllOut has already gathered 45,000 signatures in support of their position and are endorsed by key sport federations such as the European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF), the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association (IGLFA) and the Federation of Gay Games (FGG).

Last week the New York Times outlined soccer’s  homophobia citing comments by Nigerian women’s head  soccer coach Eucharia Uche including  Uche’s admission of having used religion in an attempt to rid her team of lesbianism, which she has called a

a dirty issue…spiritually, morally very wrong..

Uche was also quoted by the Times as saying:

The issue of lesbianism is common…I came to realize it is not a physical battle; we need divine intervention in order to control and curb it. I tell you it worked for us. This is a thing of the past. It is never mentioned.

In a press release, AllOut.org’s co-founder Andre Banks said:

Anyone who has played or watched football knows that there are consequences for breaking the rules of the game. It is time for FIFA to finally cry foul and give Coach Uche the red card, sending a strong message that discrimination against lesbian and gay players will not be tolerated on or off the field.

(photo: creative commons sierraromeo [sarah-ji] )