Homosexuality in men's football

By: José Luis Fernández Miranda

Does the homosexuality of the main devices (players, coaches) of the game threaten the

masculinity and professionalism of the sport?

Should football at these times be more tolerant in homosexuality issues?

How would fans react knowing that sooner or later the next soccer idol could be gay?

Although society in recent years has made progress on issues of tolerance and inclusion,

focusing mainly on homosexuality, in professional male football the change is less pronounced

and, in many cases, almost non-existent. Soccer, the passionate sport of crowds, is still

according to very conservative experts on issues of inclusion and tolerance, mainly men's

football that still handles the issue as TABU, unlike women's football that in recent years has

shown significant progress, only saying that in the last women's World Cup played in France,

according to the Chicago Tribune newspaper, it has been documented that around 40

participating players are openly lesbian or bisexual. A real win for the LGBTIQ community.

Many of these athletes are elite and internationally famous. Such is the case of Megan Rapson,

star of the champion team of the certification: USA. or the case of Meg Erikson (Sweden) and

Pernille Harder (Denmark) who are currently a couple and are famous for the kiss they had in

the game that faced their respective teams. Just to mention a few

While women's football is more tolerant in inclusive more and more, men's still advances in

short steps. It is not all football players or directors that are homophobic or less tolerant, in

fact many international stars such as Oliver Giroud (France), Antoinne Griezmann (France),

Emanuelle Never (Germany), etc., have shown their support in advertising campaigns to the

inclusion of gay soccer players in elite leagues, also their support for those soccer players who

live in anonymity due to their homosexual situation.

But the cause of this slow progress is not only the fault of managers, organizations or players

who, as we see more than one, have shown their support, it also leads to a question of

whether the fans will be willing to accept the possibility that our sports idols may be gay, or it

is that our idealizations of them still prevail as strong and successful men with women.

The truth that the issue can no longer be ignored, it is inevitable to have homosexual

celebrities in all areas and football can not be the exception. It is only a matter of accepting the

reality that old patterns of gender identity and behavior are obsolete or were never reliable in

predicting human behavior. According to a survey conducted by FIFA (International Federation

of Associated Soccer), which is the largest football entity worldwide, there are a total of 265

million people around the world who practice football in a professional, semi-professional or

amateur manner and of this total approximately 70% are men. It is statistically impossible not

to have gay players.

It is something that we have to accept for the sake of sport and take pride in our progress as a

society. The fact that a player is gay and does not want to say it out of fear is a loss for the

sport, that a gay player thinks of total repression and social criticism does not benefit the

progress of the game and competitiveness. Let us leave behind the issues that have us tied to

Ignorance and conformity.