8 Male Football Players who Dared to Come Out As Gay [2023 Update]

Contents:

• 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
• 8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY
• PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY RELATNSHIP AMID WORLD CUP NTROVERSY
• WHY 'S STILL DIFFICULT TO BE MALE, GAY AND PLAY FOOTBALL
• WHY ARE MORE FEMALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY OR BISEXUAL THAN MALE PLAYERS?
• THE GAY FOOTBALLER: WHY FANS WANTED A UK PLAYER TO E OUT
• JAKE DANIELS: BLACKPOOL FORWARD BE UK'S FIRST ACTIVE MALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLER TO E OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY
• AT LEAST 20 FOOTBALLERS PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPNSHIP ARE GAY BUT THEY'RE AAID TO E OUT SAYS EX-CLUB BOSS
• EVRA: THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO GAY PLAYERS AT EVERY FOOTBALL CLUB

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”.

WHY THERE ARE STILL NO OPENLY GAY FOOTBALLERS THE PREMIER LEAGUE

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. Former footballer Clarke Carlisle, a proment spokman for player welfare, said eight Premier League players had told him they were gay.

8 MALE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO DARED TO COME OUT AS GAY

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. 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.

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. 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.

PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY RELATNSHIP AMID WORLD CUP NTROVERSY

In 2020, durg the San Diego Loyal match agast Phoneix Risg FC, Mart released a story of homophobic sults directed toward him. Likewise, The Jt Fashanu All-stars football special event started Brighton to honor him and promote homosexualy football. Therefore, a suable environment should be created through tn as a drivg factor, so gay footballers don’t feel prsured to reveal their sexualy.

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.

WHY 'S STILL DIFFICULT TO BE MALE, GAY AND PLAY FOOTBALL

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.

Media ptn, Newsround speaks to a young gay footballer about his experienc g out, along wh pro footballer Anton Hysén, one of the few openly gay players the game.

But the wrer of the show, Shn Duggan, said that was impossible this time bee of the lack of gay players the game: "It's que sad that 2020 when Dillon need some advice, there are no out players the Premier League.

WHY ARE MORE FEMALE PROFSNAL FOOTBALLERS OPENLY GAY OR BISEXUAL THAN MALE PLAYERS?

Former Hull Cy player Thomas Beatie is the latt, after Jt Fashanu, Thomas Hzlsperger and Robbie says that he felt that he uldn't announce that he was gay while still playg: "I lerally felt like I had to sacrifice one of the two: who I am, or the sport I loved, " he said. Homosexualy is often still ed as an sult a lot of, A young footballerThere are a number of clive teams the UK that help people to feel that they n be accepted for who they are and still play football. The LGBT chary Stonewall says dramas and storyl that show openly gay characters are important: "A lot of people fd hard to image that any top tier footballers - who are male - uld potentially be gay or bi, " says Robbie De Santos, Stonewall's director of sport.

THE GAY FOOTBALLER: WHY FANS WANTED A UK PLAYER TO E OUT

However, men's football is far behd other sports when to s stars beg openly gay and Joe thks more needs to be done to make sure young gay players like him feel wele and accepted the game.

But rather than jt certa tim of the year, you're not gay for a month you're gay for life and clubs om any sport need to be able to show that support nsistently to say; 'listen, you're gog to be weled this muny and 's gog to be a good thg that you're out and open'. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Watford pta Troy Deeney says there's probably "one gay player every team"Troy Deeney, the pta of Premier League si Watford, has said that he believ there is "probably one gay player every football team". There are only two players playg profsnally now who are openly gay, San Diego Loyal's Coll Mart and Anton Hysen who plays Swen.

England women's pta Casey Stoney no longer ightened of what people might thkEngland women's pta Casey Stoney has spoken publicly about beg gay for the first time. "The Arsenal Ladi fenr add: "I feel 's really important for me to speak out as a gay player bee there are so many people stgglg who are gay, and you hear about people takg their own liv bee they are homosexual.

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

"Stoney revealed the lengths she went to orr to keep her private life a secret and spoke openly about why other women football players have not e out as also said was "credible" that World Cups have been award to Rsia and Qatar given their attus towards homosexuals. Rsia, currently stagg the Wter Olympics Sochi, is the host for the next World Cup after this summer's Brazil, but there have been several protts after passed new laws banng 'gay propaganda' aimed at unr 18-year-olds - wily seen as an attack on gay wh homosexualy illegal 2022 host untry Qatar, Fifa print Sepp Blatter said gay fans gog to the tournament should "rea om sexual activy" publicly g out, Stoney be the most high-profile active gay footballer Villa player Thomas Hzlsperger retired before he revealed he was gay January, while former Leeds player Robbie Rogers also hung up his boots last year before returng to play for David Beckham's former team, LA Galaxy. " Stoney, who plays the semi-profsnal Women's Super League, says that homosexualy is more accepted the women's game than the men's game.

She timat there are "maybe two or three" gay players some she still thks her cisn to e out will e some surprise the women's game bee so few gay players have so far spoken out.

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

"When Rsian Print Vladimir Put says that gay people n e over but please don't go near the children, what sort of msage is that sendg if he is that unted and he's lg that untry?

By ITV News Content Producer Alex BleyThe most proment Women's World Cup ever has e to a close wh another USA only did the tournament throw a spotlight on how different the women's game is om the men's, highlighted how different the teams are as the whole tournament, there were at least 41 female players or ach who are openly gay or the male tournament 2018, there were none.

Siarly the Premier League, there is not one sgle player who is openly gay or least five members of the Lns are gay or bisexual, pared wh none of England's male a society where gay marriag n take place, and same-sex upl enjoy the same legal privileg as their heterosexual unterparts, the make-up of both football teams is at odds wh Brish society as a w World Cup aga after victory agast NetherlandsSame-sex marriage me to force the UK 2014. Cred: PAAcrdg to the Office for Natnal Statistics, 2017, around two per cent of the populatn intified as lbian, gay or is not that male football only attracts heterosexual mal, or women's football a high rat of lbian or bisexual players, but largely due to the differg atmospher surroundg the two gam. "Conversely " the men's game there's more racism, sexism and homophobia", he abe directed at footballers supportg #Enough social media boyttSterlg: Football Chiefs dog 'nowhere near enough' to solve racism problemRacist abe directed at footballers supportg #Enough social media boyttDr Stefan Lawrence, an expert masculy sport and senr lecturer at Newman Universy Birmgham, agre that women's football has a "different culture" to men's.

EVRA: THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO GAY PLAYERS AT EVERY FOOTBALL CLUB

Cred: Three Lns PriThe fact that there were 41 players or ach at the Women's World Cup who were openly gay or bisexual means that beg so the female game is more of a norm.

""People are wag for an ele male player to e out, " adds Di Cunngham, another -founr of Three Lns this jt creas the prsure that the first male player to announce that he is gay or bisexual, will e unr, she adds. "It's such a big al for one footballer to e out, that a few need to do at once to take the prsure off, " believ Dr Rachael Bullgham, a senr lecturer at the Universy of Worcter who specialis homophobia women's sport.

Cred: PAThe way which male and female players are veloped is also believed to be a factor why female players beg gay or bisexual is more the norm than male ele male players have e through football ami where they have been sce a young age. "It's not bee gay men aren't terted beg profsnal footballers, " he explas, but bee ami are "heteronormative" (where beg heterosexual is the norm) environments. Cred: PAWhile the male game is "heteronormative", acrdg to Lawrence, the female game is the oppose and "homonormative", he says, meang that players who are lbian or bisexual do not hi their sexuali as they feel that beg homosexual is "much more accepted" until the "heteronormative" atmosphere men's football is broken, by players g out, will ntue to self-perpetuate.