Jake Daniels be first UK male footballer to e out as gay sce 1990 | Football | The Guardian

suspected gay football players uk

Openly gay Leeds Uned director David Haigh says players nfid him - and he believ clubs uld benef mercially if stars e out

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AT LEAST 20 FOOTBALLERS PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPNSHIP ARE GAY BUT THEY'RE AAID TO E OUT SAYS EX-CLUB BOSS

* suspected gay football players uk *

At least 20 footballers Premier League and Champnship are gay but they're aaid to e out says ex-club bossOpenly gay Leeds Uned director David Haigh says players nfid him - and he believ clubs uld benef mercially if stars e outDavid Haigh durg his time at Leeds UnedAt least 20 football stars are gay and “aaid” to e out, a top club’s ex-director claims.

He was openly gay durg a spell as Leeds Uned MD 2013-14 and says many homosexual players nfid him as a rult. “Young stars advertise brands wh sponsors and beg gay is still seen as a handip.

Amerin player Robbie Rogers me out as gay. “I also thk supportg gay players would be very beneficial to a club mercially.

JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990

Amal Fashanu, whose uncle was Bra's first and only openly gay male profsnal footballer, tells Sky News the foundatn dited to him is offerg support to two Premier League players who are yet to e out publicly. * suspected gay football players uk *

He spoke out after Belgium fenr Carl Hoefkens told how he had played wh two Premier League footballers who were gay but publicly ‘ the closet’. Mr Haigh was openly gay wh board members and fans at Elland Road, and says many gay players nfid him as a rult.

“My figure on the number of gay players is probably a gross unr timate.

Some top stars are open about beg gay wh team mat, but feel too sred to tell their fans, Mr Haigh claims. “They go to gay bars and they do not hi their partners.

PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY RELATNSHIP AMID WORLD CUP NTROVERSY

Dad-of-two Hoefkens, 39, who played for Stoke and Wt Brom om, told Belgian newspaper De Zondag: “I played alongsi three gay footballers, cludg one who was a genuely big name. ” Mr Haigh was ntacted by gay players om different top flight clubs, but adms was difficult for them to go public about their sexualy. “Beg gay is still seen as a handip and players get enough abe on the pch as is.

Robbie Rogers of the USA has e out as gay. “I don’t thk gay footballers would face a terrible time today, ” he said. ” But he do believe certa untri ‘own upon’ gay relatnships and so club ownership, and sponsors, uld be a problem.

GAY PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLER 'VERY LIKELY' TO E OUT NEXT YEAR, SAYS JT FASHANU'S NIECE

And he add: “I thk supportg gay players would be very beneficial om a mercial perspective. ” There are 4, 000 profsnal footballers the UK, but not one is openly gay.

The Blackpool forward Jake Daniels has end s of silence wh men’s football to bee the first player the UK to e out as gay sce Jt Fashanu 1990. Photograph: Pl Dennis/TGS Photo/ShutterstockDaniels’s revelatn is a strikg landmark that when men’s football is more engaged wh social issu than any recent time, but still unable to ce progrs LGBTQ reprentatn wh the year Alai Uned’s Josh Cavallo beme the only male top-flight profsnal footballer the world to e out as gay, but others are yet to follow.

In six months the men’s World Cup will be played Qatar, where homosexualy is illegal, and Cavallo revealed to the Guardian he would be “sred” to play at the tournament, the pnacle of world English football specifilly, the shadow of the talented and unfulfilled Fashanu still lgers over the game.

THERE ARE GAY PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS WHO HAVE E OUT TO TEAMMAT BUT FEAR HOMOPHOBIC BACKLASH OM FANS, SAYS SIR

The England ternatnal me out at the end of his reer and was to take his own life eight years later, Fashanu, Jt’s niece, who ns a charable foundatn his name, said that Daniels’s cisn would “e as a huge fort to the many footballers at all levels of the game still secretly livg as gay and who still feel unable to e out”. This is a hot topic particularly bee the host natn, Qatar, is known to crimalise homosexual relatns. Now, has been revealed that two Premier League teammat are a gay an exclive story by The Sun, the two Premier League footballers are reportedly open about beg a gay relatnship, at least as far as the drsg room go.

Earlier this month, the Qatari ambassador to the UK had warned same-sex upl not to kiss public if they will travel to watch the World, World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman ed outrage last week after sayg that beg gay is tantamount to havg "damage the md.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* SUSPECTED GAY FOOTBALL PLAYERS UK

Gay footballers have e out to teammat but fear backlash.

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