Fans back Cougars' owners after abuse exit

Fans have turned out in force to show their support for a rugby league club's owners, after they announced they were leaving due to being subjected to homophobic abuse "week in, week out".

Kaue Garcia and Ryan O'Neill have owned Keighley Cougars since 2019, with the aim of making it more inclusive to the LGBT+ community.

They have staged an annual Pride match and created the sport's first Pride Terrace, where fans could support the team in an environment "free from prejudice".

At the club's game against Swinton Lions earlier, O'Neill said: "The outpouring of support we've had since we announced we were leaving, I'm just absolutely astonished, to be honest."

At the game, a section of the crowd took to the pitch in show of support, unfurling a banner and chanting "please don't go".

"I thought a lot of people would be clapping their hands and saying thank God they're going, but the fans have come out and embraced us. It's been something I'd never expected," O'Neill said.

O'Neill's husband and co-owner, Kaue Garcia, said: "The abuse we get, daily sometimes, always has to come down to me and Ryan being a gay couple.

"So they use that as ammunition, which I think has nothing to do with how we conduct ourselves here at the club and run things as a business."

Reacting to the show of support, he added: "To see so many people actually saying don't give up, makes us wonder have we done the right decision? It's a funny one."

Meanwhile, fan Callum Duffy said: "It's awful to get that sort of abuse, it's horrible.

"As a gay man myself, I've never experienced homophobic abuse, but for them guys, I can't imagine how it feels, so we've put banners up around the club, to show them how loved they are.

"They've not just run a rugby club, they've helped everybody, they've helped people change their lives. They're amazing, absolutely amazing."

Looking back at the week and thinking about the club's future, O'Neill said: "The decision was a very stressful and pretty unhappy time for us.

"It's been a weird week. I don't really know where my head is in some ways because it's been pretty intense.

"We're talking to someone who's interested potentially in taking the club forward, so we'll see how that pans out.

"It's basically one step at a time for us at the moment."

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