Graeme Souns explas why there are no openly gay footballers the Premier League and reveals tnal vis to Brighton Pri para | talkSPORT

Contents:

• GAY PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLER 'VERY LIKELY' TO E OUT NEXT YEAR, SAYS JT FASHANU'S NIECE
• JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990
• WHY THERE ARE STILL NO OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLERS THE PREMIER LEAGUE
• PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY RELATNSHIP AMID WORLD CUP NTROVERSY
• ‘I’D FEEL LIKE I’VE DONE MY JOB’ – JAKE DANIELS WANTS TO SPIRE GAY PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS TO E OUT AND SHARE THEIR STORI
• TWO PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYERS ' RELATNSHIP' AND OPEN WH TEAMMAT ABOUT BEG GAY
• GRAEME SOUNS EXPLAS WHY THERE ARE NO OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLERS THE PREMIER LEAGUE AND REVEALS TNAL VIS TO BRIGHTON PRI PARA
• AT LEAST 20 FOOTBALLERS PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPNSHIP ARE GAY BUT THEY'RE AAID TO E OUT SAYS EX-CLUB BOSS
• GIANT MURAL ON NORWICH PUB HONOURS JT FASHANU, ENGLAND'S FIRST OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLER
• THERE ARE GAY PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS WHO HAVE E OUT TO TEAMMAT BUT FEAR HOMOPHOBIC BACKLASH OM FANS, SAYS SIR
• "A MASSIVE STEP FORWARD FOR GAY PLAYERS" - 2 PREMIER LEAGUE TEAMMAT ARE REPORTEDLY A RELATNSHIP AND ULD REVEAL INTI NEAR FUTURE
• I LONG FOR A DAY WHEN GAY FOOTBALLERS LIKE ME AND JOSH CAVALLO DON’T NEED TO BE SO ‘BRAVE’
• UNNAMED PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLER REVEALS HE IS GAY LETTER BUT SAYS HE N'T GO PUBLIC
• JAKE DANIELS: BLACKPOOL FORWARD BE UK'S FIRST ACTIVE MALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER TO E OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY

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

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. 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”. Fifa’s U-turn over the OneLove armband this week reflects a wir lack of support for gay players Brish football.

Brish men’s football has never had an easy relatnship wh gay players.

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

Nearly 25 years after Jt Fashanu took his own life, followg years of homophobic abe, Brish football still has not had another openly gay player the top flight. The armband was never much of a gture, but would have been a small act of fiance at the tournament beg award to Qatar, where homosexualy is punishable by imprisonment and some s, ath. “Pathetic, ” said Blackpool forward Jake Daniels, the only out gay player the English league, on Instagram after hearg the news.

It was 32 years ago that Fashanu me out as the first openly gay profsnal footballer.

Sce Fashanu’s ath, there have been untls iativ to stamp out homophobia the stands and support gay footballers. Former footballer Clarke Carlisle, a proment spokman for player welfare, said eight Premier League players had told him they were gay.

WHY THERE ARE STILL NO OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLERS THE PREMIER LEAGUE

Yet none the Premier League are out, and Daniels is the only out gay player the English league. “Football is a socially nservative world, ” says Ross Rais, whose novel, A Natural, is about a gay footballer. Consir the se of (heterosexual) Graeme Le Sx, who played for Chelsea and England the 1990s and 2000s and was brand “gay” for admtg he read The Guardian.

Fans tnted him wh homophobic chants and Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler famoly waggled his backsi at Le Sx durg a match.

PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY RELATNSHIP AMID WORLD CUP NTROVERSY

This week, Fifa is vtigatg the Ecuadorean fans over allegatns of homophobic chantg. The clubs and the FA have ma efforts to improve the culture wh iativ such as Kick It Out, which mpaigns agast discrimatn and Football v Homophobia, backed by the FA, which offers support to fans, grassroots teams and top-level clubs.

‘I’D FEEL LIKE I’VE DONE MY JOB’ – JAKE DANIELS WANTS TO SPIRE GAY PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS TO E OUT AND SHARE THEIR STORI

Blackpool forward Jake Daniels is the only openly gay player the English league.

Even where men’s sport has had one or two high-profile gay players, as wh Gareth Thomas gby unn, they rema outliers. But tak guts to e out and reveal one’s genr as gay, which is ually an act of urage a world that is not ndned to accept every genr.

This listicle will mentn eight male football players who dared to e out as gay.

TWO PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYERS ' RELATNSHIP' AND OPEN WH TEAMMAT ABOUT BEG GAY

Seventeen male footballers have urageoly revealed their sexualy as gay public so far. Even though has already been three s sce Jt Fashanu first publicly me out as gay, there are only a few of them revealg . The primary reason behd many gay footballers not revealg their sexualy publicly is fear of homophobia on and off the pch.

So, many profsnal leagu, teams, and players are raisg their voic to fight back agast homophobia so that gay footballers don’t face backlash while g out.

GRAEME SOUNS EXPLAS WHY THERE ARE NO OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLERS THE PREMIER LEAGUE AND REVEALS TNAL VIS TO BRIGHTON PRI PARA

Now, whout any further ado, let’s list the football players who dared to e out as gay publicly. Moreover, Andy Brennan is the first Atralian male footballer to openly disclosed beg gay.

Currently, he is the only openly gay football player to play any of the Amerin top 5 major leagu.

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

In 2020, durg the San Diego Loyal match agast Phoneix Risg FC, Mart released a story of homophobic sults directed toward him.

One of the hight-profile male football players publicly clarg himself as gay is German footballer Thomas Hzlsperger. In January 2014, Hzlsperger me out as gay while terviewg Die Ze, a German newspaper. His fellow German players supported his cisn to announce himself as gay publicly.

Durg his spell at Leeds, Rodgers publicly appeared gay Febary 2013.

GIANT MURAL ON NORWICH PUB HONOURS JT FASHANU, ENGLAND'S FIRST OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLER

Later, after wng the 2014 MLS Cup, Rodgers also beme the first gay male to w the league tle the USA. In 2015, Rodger got ducted to the Natnal Gay and Lbian Sports Hall of Fame.

In November 2011, an terview wh Canadian broadster Rad Canada, Tto me out as gay. Moreover, David Tto is the first profsnal Amerin male profsnal footballer to e out as gay.

In 2019, he was also featured a documentary related to homophobia sports named Standg on the Le. Tto is a You Can Play mpaign advisory group fightg to elimate homophobia the sportg world.

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

Anton Hysen is the youngt son of retired Swedish footballer Glenn Hysen and one of the gay players football. In 2011, Anton Hysen publicly me out as gay durg an terview wh Offsi. Later, he beme the send footballer to bee gay while playg profsnally.

After g out as a gay footballer, he also even beme an onle sensatn. Later, he was profiled on Swedish broadstg channel TV4 March 2011 a bate show (Can gays play football too?).

Likewise, he also participated the 7th edn of the realy TV show Lets Dance and beme the first-ever gay to w the ntt. The documentary Rise Above is a film on Anton Hysen released 2013 to portray his story as gay.

"A MASSIVE STEP FORWARD FOR GAY PLAYERS" - 2 PREMIER LEAGUE TEAMMAT ARE REPORTEDLY A RELATNSHIP AND ULD REVEAL INTI NEAR FUTURE

But as one of the gay players football, Rouyer is dog his bt to fight homophobia France. The late athlete Jt Fashanu was the first footballer to e out publicly as gay.

I LONG FOR A DAY WHEN GAY FOOTBALLERS LIKE ME AND JOSH CAVALLO DON’T NEED TO BE SO ‘BRAVE’

In 1990, Jt broke the barrier the footballg World when he clared himself gay publicly the newspaper. Later, on 22nd October 1990, The Sun Tabloid newspaper published the headle “£1m Football Star: I AM GAY”.

UNNAMED PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLER REVEALS HE IS GAY LETTER BUT SAYS HE N'T GO PUBLIC

Legendary manager Brian Clogh end Fashanu Nottgham’s reer bee he was gay.

After his ath, The Pk Paper ranked Jt Fashanu the 99th spot the Top 500 Lbian and Gay Hero.

JAKE DANIELS: BLACKPOOL FORWARD BE UK'S FIRST ACTIVE MALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER TO E OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY

Likewise, The Jt Fashanu All-stars football special event started Brighton to honor him and promote homosexualy football.

In June 2020, former profsnal footballer Tomas Beattie me out as gay durg an Amerin sports channel ESPN terview. Furthermore, he is one of the send Brish football players to publicly e out as gay after Jt Fashanu did 30 years ago.

Siarly, Richarlyson Barbossa Felisbo om Brazil also revealed his genr as gay openly. The above list of players plet our list of 8 footballers who dared to e out as gay.