German weekly newspaper Preussische Allgemeine Zeitung is claiming that multiple male footballers in German football will come out as gay on May 17, which is International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.
The outlet claims a group of professionals across the country will publicly declare their sexual orientation during the German domestic season, with the penultimate weekend of the Bundesliga action, its top-flight, taking place across that weekend.
While it is believed that all of the clubs the reported players are aware of the planned proposal, Preussische Allgemeine Zeitung has stated that some players still have reservations about revealing their homosexuality and could still make a U-turn in doing so.
Marcus Urban, a former footballer in Germany who came out as gay in 2007, hopes the plans come to fruition.
“I think they are respected and celebrated for that. Not by everyone, that’s clear. But hate speech cannot be a criterion for a life,
“May 17 is an offer,” he told the Editorial Network Germany (RND). “A date that you could use as a guide and get together as a group.
“There is controversy there. Do I still want to wait until the world of football becomes the way I want it to be? Why should I wait? An interesting dynamic has come into play, you can see that people’s minds are starting to move and are thinking about whether it really makes sense to continue to hide and deny themselves.
Urban went on to reveal that there are gay couples playing in the Bundesliga too – declaring it would be ‘liberating’ if they came out.
“There are also gay Bundesliga couples who are in hiding,” he continued.
“That would be so liberating. What’s wrong with it.”
At present there are no active male professional footballers in Germany who are openly gay.
Former Germany international, Thomas Hitzlsperger, who played in the Premier League for Aston Villa, West Ham and Everton, came out as gay in 2014 a year after retiring.
In October 2021, Adelaide United midfielder Josh Cavallo became – at the time – the only known current top-flight male football player in the world to come out as gay. Then 21, the Australian – now 24 and recently engaged to his fiancé – told the world he was tired of ‘living a double life’.
Since Cavallo’s reveal, three other footballers have come forward as gay, including Blackpool forward Jake Daniels, Cagliari’s Jakub Jankto and San Diego Loyal midfielder Collin Martin.
The first professional player to come out while still playing was Britain’s Justin Fashanu in 1990, but he never found acceptance in the game and tragically took his own life 1998.
A charity set up by Fashanu’s family last year released a letter from an unnamed gay player in the Premier League which highlighted how little football’s culture had changed.
You must be logged in to post a comment.