Bowyer: "It doesn’t matter what your background is, everybody is always welcome"

Saturday’s game against Portsmouth is the annual Football v Homophobia-themed matchday.

This year, the club will be launching Football v Homophobia’s month of action with a series of activities culminating in the official launch of the month on Saturday evening.

Charlton have a long history of fighting racism and have become leaders in tackling homophobia in football. Earlier this year Charlton were selected alongside Liverpool and Sheffield United in the final three in the club category for upcoming Football v Hompphobia awards for the work done in tackling homophobia in football.

Speaking during his pre-Portsmouth press conference Lee Bowyer explained why events like Saturday’s matchday are so important.

He said: "It’s a national campaign but our club is excellent. I think the most important thing and the message that we try to put across is, it doesn’t matter what your background is, this club always supports everybody, everybody is always welcome. I think that’s plain to see, we’ve been very good at that in the past and we’ll continue to be so. Everybody is welcome at our club, we all know that."

Click here to read more about the activities leading up to Saturday’s matchday here.

Click here to see Charlton's timeline in tackling homophobia in football.

Click here to purchase your live video pass for Saturday's game.

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