Footballer guilty of ‘vile’ homophobic abuse as CPS launch crackdown

Senior CPS lawyers have launched a new campaign targeting homophobic hate crime during Pride Month.

Lionel Idan, chief crown prosecutor for London South, spoke out as a footballer was convicted on Thursday of making a “vile” slur towards a bisexual player.

Tower Hamlets FC’s Ayokunle Odedoyin, 32, committed a late tackle on Sheppey United’s Jahmal Howlett-Mundle before hurling abuse in the FA Cup match on August 7 last year.

Mr Howlett-Mundle, 25, had publicly come out around 10 days before the incident.

Odedoyin’s conviction is one of three recently which Mr Idan, also the Crown Prosecution Service’s national hate crime lead, said shows anti-gay attacks “won’t be tolerated”.

He told the Standard: “If you hear it, report it - whether it’s in a park or a football ground.

“Look at the successes we are having, this isn’t about one month or London - it’s a national conversation that starts in schools.

“Working with community partners and the police is key because it’s sometimes short-sighted to think a person who has hate in their heart is targeting one strand.”

Convictions for homophobic crime are up 76.4 per cent in 2021/22.

There have been 125 successful prosecutions for transphobia, the highest level since the law was introduced.

Mr Idan’s team are touring classrooms and youth groups to educate youngsters on how abuse which might seem like bullying can escalate over time.

They will be at Pride events celebrating the capital’s LGBTQ+ community in coming weeks.

One aim is to boost confidence in the CPS, explaining how special measures - such as screens and video links - can be used in court so victims don’t have to face their attackers.

Police are also able to bring evidence led prosecutions which proceed without the victim’s support.

Lawyers work with the Premier League, English Football League and the Football Association to explain what evidence is required to charge a hate crime.

Mr Idan added: “We want to explain the impact this abuse is having on people and bring offenders to justice. It’s a powerful message but I know you can’t prosecute your way out of the problem.”

Odedoyin, from Barking, was convicted of using threatening, abusive or insulting words to cause harassment, alarm or distress at Bexley Magistrates’ Court.

He will be sentenced on July 12. The CPS will apply for an uplifted sentence to take into account the hate crime element.

In May, Nigel Carrington, 53, was fined more than £400 for chanting homophobic abuse at Chelsea fans during a match against Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge.

Magistrates found preacher Omar Mohamad, 65, guilty of making anti-gay remarks to a fellow speaker in Hyde Park in September.