Igor Benevenuto out as gay referee months before FIFA World Cup - Outsports

Contents:

• FIFA REFEREE IGOR BENEVENUTO OUT AS GAY MONTHS BEFORE THE WORLD CUP
• "YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED" - FIFA'S ONLY OPENLY GAY REFEREE IGOR BENEVENUTO BELIEV 40% OF FOOTBALLERS ARE GAY OR BISEXUAL
• REFEREE IGOR BENEVENUTO ON G OUT AS GAY: ‘I WAS SRED OF BEG ATTACKED THE STREET’
• BRAZIL FOOTBALL REFEREE IGOR BENEVENUTO REMOV HIS 'MOUFLAGE' TO E OUT AS GAY
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS KEV MAXEN BE FIRST PROFSNAL MALE ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• 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
• GAY PRO SOCCER REFEREE CLAIMS OVER 30% OF MALE SOCCER PLAYERS ARE GAY OR BI. IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?
• IGOR BENEVENUTO BE FIRST FIFA-RANKED REFEREE TO E OUT AS GAY
• I’M A GAY REFEREE AND YOU’D BE SURPRISED HOW MANY FOOTBALLERS ARE HOMOSEXUAL… SADLY THERE’S STILL PREJUDICE SPORT
• HOW ONE OF BRAZIL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY SOCCER REFERE CHANGED THE GAME
• GAY WATER, A NEW NNED CKTAIL, WANTS TO BE THE ANTI-BUD LIGHT
• 'I'M FALLY MYSELF' - BRAZIL'S IGOR BENEVENUTO BE FIRST FIFA REFEREE TO E OUT AS GAY
• TOP FOOTBALL REFEREE IGOR BENEVENUTO OUT AS GAY AHEAD OF WORLD CUP
• BRAZILIAN SOCCER REF SAYS HE IS GAY, HOP TO SPIRE OTHERS

FIFA REFEREE IGOR BENEVENUTO OUT AS GAY MONTHS BEFORE THE WORLD CUP

Igor Benevenuto, a FIFA soccer referee Brazil, has e out publicly as gay. In a stirrg statement to Globo Esporte, Benevenuto, 41, talked about the pa of livg a culture and a relign that rejected homosexualy.

Gay sex is illegal Qatar, and FIFA has been experienced heightened scty of late for the selectn of Qatar as the World Cup host. I will jt be Igor, male, gay, who rpects people and their choic.

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

Brazilian official Igor Benevenuto, who is FIFA's only openly gay referee, has claimed that up to 40% of people associated wh men’s football are eher gay or bisexual.

REFEREE IGOR BENEVENUTO ON G OUT AS GAY: ‘I WAS SRED OF BEG ATTACKED THE STREET’

Acrdg to the Brazilian, homosexualy and bisexualy are a lot more wispread football than meets the eye. Thirty to forty percent of them are homosexual or bisexual, or have done somethg at one time wh another man.

BRAZIL FOOTBALL REFEREE IGOR BENEVENUTO REMOV HIS 'MOUFLAGE' TO E OUT AS GAY

“You would be surprised at jt who is homosexual this dtry. Benevenuto then opened up about the prejudice he faced Brazil for beg gay, revealg that he had to pe wh prsn and go through dark tim. “In Brazil homosexualy is seen as an illns siar to alholism, which n be overe.

In May 2022, Blackpool FC starlet Jake Daniels beme the first active footballer England to e out publicly as gay sce Jt Fashanu (1990). Benevenuto is the first openly gay FIFA-level he me out two weeks ago, on a podst produced by Brazilian media work Globo, ma headl around the world.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS KEV MAXEN BE FIRST PROFSNAL MALE ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

Dpe the recent bravery of Josh Cavallo and Jake Daniels, the number of openly gay men football is still vanishgly small. The first is jt how hostile the world of football — particularly Brazilian football — n feel to gay people. Anyone who has watched a match a Brazilian stadium will have heard fans aimg homophobic slurs like ‘bicha’ and ‘viado’ (rough equivalents English would be ‘poof’ and ‘faggot’) at opposn players.

Benevenuto is the first openly gay FIFA-level referee (Photo: Friemann Vogel/Getty Imag)In refereeg circl, Benevenuto’s sexualy eventually beme somethg of an open secret.

“I ed to lie my bed, askg, ‘Why am I gay? “Brazil is not like Europe, where gay people hold hands the street, people live together normally. In Brazil, you are nstantly seeg news reports of gay people beg attacked.

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

A guy might be walkg down the street and jt bee he looks gay — he might not be at all — he gets jumped by a stranger and smacked the back of the head. Acrdg to rearch by watchdog Gpo Gay da Bahia, 300 LGBT+ Brazilians died as victims of homophobia and transphobia 2021. Refere have been given greater thory to stop gam, and stanc of homophobia and racism are now treated as the sndals they are, not met wh the media sphere, too, thgs are shiftg.

“YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED” – FIFA’S ONLY OPENLY GAY REFEREE IGOR BENEVENUTO BELIEV 40% OF FOOTBALLERS ARE GAY OR BISEXUAL

A few days before Benevenuto’s revelatn, Richarlyson — a former Brazil midfielr who was the victim of nstant, harrowg homophobic abe durg his reer — me out as bisexual a TV terview. Belo Horizonte: Growg up, he never liked football, but Igor Benevenuto played anyway to avoid beg teased wh homophobic jok -- somethg all too mon his hometown southeastern Brazil.

He wasn't much good as a player, but found a passn for refereeg -- and the perfect "mouflage" to hi his homosexualy. Last month, the Brazilian premier league official me out publicly on a football podst, jog a very short list of trailblazg refere to publicly intify as gay.

Few football refere have e out as gay. Homophobic chants still rg out regularly football stadiums Brazil, a untry where attacks on LGBTQ people happen on a daily basis.

GAY PRO SOCCER REFEREE CLAIMS OVER 30% OF MALE SOCCER PLAYERS ARE GAY OR BI. IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?

"Homosexuals are aaid to be themselv, aaid of havg problems wh fans, of beg verbally and physilly attacked, of not beg able to work bee there is so much prejudice among management, " he says. Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St. FIFA’s first openly gay football referee believ that up to 40 per cent of people volved football are LGBTQ+.

Brazil’s Igor Benevenuto recently ma history by beg the first FIFA-ranked referee to e out as gay, after more than two s of hidg his tth,. Gays are ed to not beg themselv. “There are many gay people soccer.

IGOR BENEVENUTO BE FIRST FIFA-RANKED REFEREE TO E OUT AS GAY

“Thirty to forty per cent of them are homosexual or bisexual, or have done somethg at one time wh another man.

He said: “In Brazil homosexualy is seen as an illns siar to alholism, which n be overe. While there are many out, LGBTQ+ players the women’s game, out gay footballers are rare the men’s game.

In May, Jake Daniels beme the first active top-flight male pro to e out as gay sce Jt Fashanu 1990. Brazilian official Igor Benevenuto, who is FIFA‘s only openly gay referee, has claimed that up to 40% of people associated wh men’s football are eher gay or of the top refere football, Benevenuto, me out July, th beg the first ever FIFA-ranked referee to do so. ”Benevenuto then opened up about the prejudice he faced Brazil for beg gay, revealg that he had to pe wh prsn and go through dark tim.

I’M A GAY REFEREE AND YOU’D BE SURPRISED HOW MANY FOOTBALLERS ARE HOMOSEXUAL… SADLY THERE’S STILL PREJUDICE SPORT

Benevenuto, who has been a referee for 24 years, add:“In Brazil homosexualy is seen as an illns siar to alholism, which n be overe.

”In May 2022, Blackpool FC starlet Jake Daniels beme the first active footballer England to e out publicly as gay sce Jt Fashanu (1990). She is one of the world’s most famo out gay athlet, and fights fiercely for the LGBTQ+ muny. The profsnal soccer referee Brazil who recently me out publicly as gay is now claimg that 30% to 40% of profsnal soccer players are gay or bisexual.

“Thirty to forty percent of them are homosexual or bisexual, or have done somethg at one time wh another man, ” Benevenuto is reported to have said.

HOW ONE OF BRAZIL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY SOCCER REFERE CHANGED THE GAME

He’s certaly right about one thg: I’d be pretty shocked if a third of profsnal soccer players were gay or bisexual. In talkg wh women profsnal sports, the number of gay and bi women pro sports is very high.

GAY WATER, A NEW NNED CKTAIL, WANTS TO BE THE ANTI-BUD LIGHT

Yet the ia that a third of profsnal athlet men’s soccer are gay or bi fi all logic. A 2019 survey of men Brazil found that only about 2% of rponnts said they were gay or bi, wh about 95% sayg they are heterosexual (the rt eher didn’t know how to rpond or want to rpond). The ia that 2% of Brazilian men intify as gay or bi — but 30% to 40% of the natn’s male pro soccer players are — is ankly impossible.

The culture surroundg men’s sports is macho and at tim homophobic — hardly a place you’d expect gay and bi men to flock to. Still, ’s impossible to believe that a third or male pro soccer players are gay or bi. We’ve seen wild claims before that have never panned out, cludg one guy who said he knew 20 gay profsnal soccer players.

When I talk to people about Provcetown the summer — cludg people who’ve been there once or twice — and I ask them how gay is, the rponse is often somethg like “Oh ’s 90% gay” or “jt about everyone there is gay.

'I'M FALLY MYSELF' - BRAZIL'S IGOR BENEVENUTO BE FIRST FIFA REFEREE TO E OUT AS GAY

But when you’re ed to your lol town or cy beg 3-5% gay, sudnly a third feels like “everybody’s gay!

TOP FOOTBALL REFEREE IGOR BENEVENUTO OUT AS GAY AHEAD OF WORLD CUP

(By the way, if you’re lookg for that, the Fire Island P is actually 90% gay men. There are, I’m sure a handful — maybe even more — of gay and bi men pro soccer, cludg Brazil. Adriana GarciaJul 9, 2022, 06:29 AM ETBrazilian referee Igor Benevenuto has bee the first FIFA-ranked referee football history to e out as gay.

Benevenuto, 41, announced durg a Globoporte podst that he is gay and exprsed his joy that he is fally ready to be a statement to GloboEsporte, FIFA said: "FIFA wel and supports referee Igor Benevenuto and his cisn to e out. UP to 40 per cent of footballers are gay, a top referee has claimed. 1Igor Benevenuto has opened up about homosexualy footballCred: AFP.

Benevenuto has now sisted homosexualy is far more wispread football than prevly thought.

BRAZILIAN SOCCER REF SAYS HE IS GAY, HOP TO SPIRE OTHERS

"Thirty to forty per cent of them are homosexual or bisexual, or have done somethg at one time wh another man. "You would be surprised at jt who is homosexual this dtry.

He add: "In Brazil homosexualy is seen as an illns siar to alholism, which n be overe. Gay civil rights activist Luiz Mott found one of Brazil’s first gay rights anizatns, Gpo Gay da Bahia. Acrdg to Gpo Gay da Bahia, roughly “3, 100 homosexuals” were killed om hate-motivated crim between 1980 and 2009, and the rate of vlence agast gay Brazilians is creasg.