Why there are still no openly gay footballers the Premier League

Contents:

• JAKE DANIELS BE FIRST UK MALE FOOTBALLER TO E OUT AS GAY SCE 1990
• GAY PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLER 'VERY LIKELY' TO E OUT NEXT YEAR, SAYS JT FASHANU'S NIECE
• 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
• 8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY
• WHO ARE THE ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP GAY FOOTBALLERS?
• AT LEAST 20 FOOTBALLERS PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPNSHIP ARE GAY BUT THEY'RE AAID TO E OUT SAYS EX-CLUB BOSS
• GAY PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYERS: PL PLAYERS MOURED TO BE GAY
• THERE ARE GAY PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS WHO HAVE E OUT TO TEAMMAT BUT FEAR HOMOPHOBIC BACKLASH OM FANS, SAYS SIR

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

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.

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.

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

“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.

WHY THERE ARE STILL NO OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLERS THE PREMIER LEAGUE

Former footballer Clarke Carlisle, a proment spokman for player welfare, said eight Premier League players had told him they were gay. Yet none the Premier League are out, and Daniels is the only out gay player the English league.

PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY RELATNSHIP AMID WORLD CUP NTROVERSY

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

‘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

Even where men’s sport has had one or two high-profile gay players, as wh Gareth Thomas gby unn, they rema outliers. 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. This is why the possibily of havg two active Premier League players speak up about beg gay is such an important topic for the LGBTQ+ muny at the moment. There are mours about other gay players, but remas to be seen if they will e out publicly while still nversatns about the topic will surely ntue to the World Cup, pecially wh thoands of spectators flockg to Qatar to enjoy the event.

8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY

‘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.

Daniels spoke out on his cisn on Monday (Picture: Sky News)Jake Daniels hop his cisn to e out will spire gay footballers the Premier League and across world football to do the same.

WHO ARE THE ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP GAY FOOTBALLERS?

The 17-year-old Blackpool forward has e out as the only open gay male profsnal footballer Bra and jt the send the world after Josh Carvallo of Alai Uned Atralia. Daniels, who signed his first profsnal ntract wh Blackpool earlier this year, believ other gay male footballers are stgglg wh expectatns over masculy the game.

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

Daniels ma his senr but for Blackpool this month (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)‘I thk down to a lot of footballers wantg to be known as mascule, and I thk beg gay, a lot of people e as beg weak, ’ Daniels told Sky Sports News.

GAY PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYERS: PL PLAYERS MOURED TO BE GAY

‘So a lot of people would say, “You’re dog that bee you’re gay” and they’re gog to say ’s bee you’re weak, but ’s jt not the se.

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

Daniels hop other gay footballers, even those the Premier League, n now feel fortable g out or even reachg out to him to help them wh the procs. ‘So I jt want to do that for other people and maybe if there’s Premier League footballers who are gay and ready to e out – or they want to and are jt wag – I want someone to ntact me and ask, “How’s been? MORE: Blackpool forward Jake Daniels be first pro footballer to e out as gay 32 years.