A German footballer has used Reddit to admit he is gay.
The unnamed footballer said that he kept his sexuality underwraps from his teammates and parents, and only a couple of close friends know about his true sexuality.
He also admitted that he had a fake girlfriend, and did not plan on coming out publicly any time soon.
The footballer used the pseudonym ‘Eckfahne’ instead of his name, but did reveal he played in the third division of the German league, and was 20-years-old.
There are of course no openly gay footballers in the Premier League or across the top leagues in Europe, and while there has been a much bigger focus on eradicating homophobia in football, incidents like the one involving Burnley’s Andre Gray and his hate filled tweets, something that subsequently saw him charged by the FA, means we’re no closer to seeing a footballer come out as gay.
It is of course a huge shame that people in all walks of life, not just football, feel the need to hide their sexuality because of the fear of the reaction from their family, friends and work colleagues.
Campaigns like Kick It Out and films such as Wonderkid are trying to pave the way for a gay footballer to feel safe enough to admit their sexuality, but as this thread has shown, there’s a long way to go yet.
