Young gay footballer explains decision to stay in closet

An anonymous German footballer has explained his decision to remain in the closet, saying: “Being gay just isn’t accepted in football.”

The player, who is believed to compete in the Under 19 Bundesliga – the highest youth league in German football – uses the pseudonym “Nico” in an extensive and insightful interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, The Independent reports.

During the interview, Nico reveals that after his fellow players found out that he was gay, they stopped showering naked alongside him.

“After a training session I walked into the shower and I realised all of my teammates weren’t naked, but were wearing underpants,” Nico recalls. “Of course I was totally shocked. At first I didn’t know why, but then I realised it was because of me.”

The player also claims that his sexuality harmed his chances of being picked for his team’s first eleven, saying:

“By the end of the season though, I was out of contention because I’d been playing badly. Nevertheless, I thought I’d played a good season. That showed me that being gay just isn’t accepted in football. And that won’t change in the near future.”

Summarising his decision to stay in the closet, Nico adds: “When you play well in a game and the crowd starts cheering your name, there’s no better feeling. It wasn’t worth throwing that and 10 years of training away just because I like men and not women.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger recently suggested that it is possible that no football player in the UK Premiership will come out in the foreseeable future because of the intense media scrutiny his decision would create.

Meanwhile, a recent poll by Football Addicts and Stonewall found that Irish fans would be most accepting of an out gay football player, followed by the UK and Sweden. Click here to find out more.