"You would be surprised" - FIFA's only openly gay referee Igor Benevenuto believ 40% of footballers are gay or bisexual

Contents:

• STEVE STRIMLG WILL OFFICIATE A NATNAL SEMIFAL, THE FIRST OUT GAY REFEREE TO DO SO
• OPENLY GAY PRO-FOOTBALL REFEREE AMANDA SER-COOK WILL BE PART OF DIVERSE XFL OFFICIATG CREW
• RYAN ATK: FROM LMAN TO CHAMPN - FIRST OPENLY GAY REFEREE ON EXPERIENC
• GAY FOOTBALL REFEREE THKS ’40 PER CENT’ OF PLAYERS AND OFFICIALS ULD BE LGBTQ+
• "YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED" - FIFA'S ONLY OPENLY GAY REFEREE IGOR BENEVENUTO BELIEV 40% OF FOOTBALLERS ARE GAY OR BISEXUAL
• RABOW LAC: REF RYAN ATK ON BEG GAY FOOTBALL
• FOOTBALL REFERE OUT AS GAY TO SHOW THAT THE BETIFUL GAME IS FOR EVERYONE

STEVE STRIMLG WILL OFFICIATE A NATNAL SEMIFAL, THE FIRST OUT GAY REFEREE TO DO SO

Football referee Jam Adck speaks to the BBC's LGBT Sport Podst"I'm very appreciative of the fact that I'm an openly gay man football. "Adck has worked as a fourth official the Premier League'People know I'm gay and jt accept - I'm fortunate for that'As a child of the '80s and '90s, Adck was ed to hearg the same tired stereotyp - that people who loved sport uldn't be gay as, who is om Long Eaton Derbyshire, didn't e out until he was 27 - but his experienc wh the game have been nothg but posive.

OPENLY GAY PRO-FOOTBALL REFEREE AMANDA SER-COOK WILL BE PART OF DIVERSE XFL OFFICIATG CREW

And, to be hont, there's been tert om lleagu sayg, 'I'm proud of you Jam, that you're able to be openly gay sport, ' bee they know the barriers that are still place. "They're fully supportive and don't change the way they are around me or the way they speak to me bee they thought I was a heterosexual guy, and now they fd out I'm a gay guy.

"I don't need to wear a T-shirt sayg: 'I'm Jam Adck and I'm a gay guy. "I've not had any homophobic abe thrown at me, and I n't tell you a story where I've had to bat or overe that.

"To e out as gay or not e out as gay, you have to choose that as a person and not as a ref. I'm not refereeg bee I'm gay, I'm refereeg bee I'm refereeg a game of football - so jt treat me as a normal human beg.

RYAN ATK: FROM LMAN TO CHAMPN - FIRST OPENLY GAY REFEREE ON EXPERIENC

"That's where my fay, my iends, and my football lleagu have been so supportive - bee don't matter that I am gay and volved sport, and refereeg the Football League. Steve Strimlg is breakg more ground as an out gay football referee, this time leadg the entire group of officials for the upstart USFL.

“The articl I read about other gay people sports each say how much they helped others, ” he told me at the time.

GAY FOOTBALL REFEREE THKS ’40 PER CENT’ OF PLAYERS AND OFFICIALS ULD BE LGBTQ+

But Ser-Cook is breakg new ground as the first openly gay official to work a major natnal profsnal football league, last year the short-lived Alliance of Amerin Football and this year the XFL. The head of officials for the Atlanta chapter of the Natnal Gay Flag Football League was there, heard me, and suggted I e help out on the weekends.

“Sce I me out at 20, [beg gay] on the field has never been an issue, and has never been a terrent, ” he said. [avatar er=”lewisj163″ size=”thumbnail” align=”left” /]Football Zebras wrer Josh Lewis has officiated adult flag-football leagu, cludg the Natnal Flag Football League of Atlanta, the Chigo Metropolan Sports Associatn, the New York Gay Football League, and the Natnal Gay Flag Football League.

"YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED" - FIFA'S ONLY OPENLY GAY REFEREE IGOR BENEVENUTO BELIEV 40% OF FOOTBALLERS ARE GAY OR BISEXUAL

No doubt, Strimlg beg publicly out as a gay man mak him a trailblazer for the LGBTQ muny.

For gay men who may not otherwise see the possibily of officiatg llege football, Strimlg is an spiratn. In fact, Strimlg’s choice to share his story publicly about beg a gay man officiatg stemmed om wantg to help other people. “The articl I read about other gay people sports each say how much they helped others, ” Strimlg said at the time.

The league will employ seven female officials, cludg Amanda Ser-Cook, who ma history last year as the first openly gay referee to work a major profsnal football league, when she served as a center judge for the short-lived Alliance of Amerin Football.

RABOW LAC: REF RYAN ATK ON BEG GAY FOOTBALL

Openly gay Pac-12 official Steve Strimlg is the ordator of officials, mirrorg the role he held the AAF.

Ryan Atk has refereed four Natnal League gam this season, most recently Dagenham & Redbridge's w agast Alrshot on 16 November"I got a lot of people jt pattg me on the back and sayg 'well done, don't matter that you are gay'. "In Augt 2017, Ryan Atk beme the first man refereeg England's profsnal leagu to e out as then, he has gone om workg as an assistant referee the English Football League to refereeg the Natnal League this nng the le to beg the man the middle, he has been nomated has been named as one of Stonewall's Sport Champns for the chary's Rabow Lac mpaign, which started on Friday and is aimed at tacklg homophobia sport, Atk spoke to the BBC's LGBT Sport Podst and says he hop that others n follow his footsteps. "'Still work to be done'Wybe goalkeeper Ryan Allsop reported alleged abe to referee John Bby at half-time their w agast Tranmere RoversMany refere workg English football n speak of the sults they are exposed to om the stands, and even as recently as the past week, there was an alleged cint of homophobic abe a League One occurred durg Tranmere's match agast Wybe and led to a man beg arrted.

And if we haven't even achieved that, then homophobia football is trailg behd.

FOOTBALL REFERE OUT AS GAY TO SHOW THAT THE BETIFUL GAME IS FOR EVERYONE

"'The culture is slowly changg'Atralian gby unn thori end Israel Fol's ntract over a social media post which he said "hell awas" gay peopleSiar problems exist other sports too.

Earlier this year, Atralian gby unn thori end Israel Fol's ntract over a social media post which he said "hell awas" gay England forward Billy Vunipola was later warned by his club si Saracens about his behavur after fendg Fol's actns.