Premier League stars back drive to tackle homophobia in football

An Arsenal player's boot displaying rainbow-coloured laces for the Stonewall campaign. Credit: YouTube

Premier League stars along with celebrities and former professionals are backing a campaign to tackle homophobia in football by donning rainbow-coloured laces for their boots this weekend.

Players including Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta, newly capped England midfielder Fabian Delph and outspoken QPR midfielder Joey Barton have all pledged their support for the Stonewall campaign.

Others, including former England striker Michael Owen, and former Germany and Aston Villa midefielder Thomas Hitzlsperger - who announced he was gay after retiring last year - also backed the campaign.

Arsenal stars including Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott have appeared in a RainbowLaces video for the campaign.

Players across all divisions in the English Football League are expected to wear rainbow laces this weekend, with more than 100,000 pairs distributed across the country.