Iker Casillas and homophobia in football
Spanish player has been accused of ‘flippancy’ after joking about being gay
Anti-gay prejudice in football is back in the spotlight after former Real Madrid and Spain player Iker Casillas said he had been hacked after tweeting that he was gay.
The episode began when the goalkeeper tweeted in Spanish: “I hope you respect me: I’m gay,” and his former Spain team-mate Carles Puyol replied: “It’s time to tell our story.”
Two hours later, Casillas deleted the tweet – and replaced it with a new message, claiming he’d been hacked but that everything was now “in order”. Puyol said he had made a “mistake” and apologised “for a clumsy joke with no bad intentions”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The initial exchange “led to thousands of replies – most of which were of a homophobic nature”, said The Mirror. Many have accused the pair of making light of the struggles that genuinely gay sportspeople face.
A ‘kick in the teeth’
In its own message on Twitter, the networking group Sports Media LGBT+ criticised both the “flippancy of the tweets” and the “weak backtrack”.
“Put simply”, wrote Jack Murley, the presenter of the BBC’s LGBT Sport Podcast, “neither man seemed to ‘get’ what it’s like to be gay in the beautiful game”.
He added that the episode “gives ammunition to those who, with half an eye on the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, feel football isn’t serious about making the LGBTQ+ community feel welcome”.
Writing for Metro, Craig Bratt, the media officer for Exeter City, also linked the episode with the upcoming tournament. He said that “in a year in which a World Cup is being held in a country where I am illegal,” the episode “felt like a kick in the teeth”.
“For the most part, the reactionaries of men’s football no longer throw around slurs”, wrote The Guardian’s Jonathan Liew. “Instead, prejudice can arrive in different forms: wrapped in irony or jest, self-aware or self-deprecating, trying to convince you it’s actually the butt of its own joke.”
‘Hugely disappointed’
Amal Fashanu, who campaigns against discrimination in football, called on Casillas to “show evidence of the hack”. The niece of late football star Justin Fashanu, who was the first professional footballer to be openly gay, told The Sun she was “hugely disappointed” by the actions of the two players, adding that “we still see a lot of homophobic abuse online and it has to end”.
“If any good can come out of this saga”, said Amal, “it will be that the authorities, especially the FA and the Premier League, will be reminded how much more still needs to be done to support players who are brave enough to make that step and talk about their sexuality publicly”.
Indeed, noted Murley, the game is changing, with “LGBTQ+ leagues marking landmark anniversaries” and “LGBTQ+ fans attending games as their inclusive selves, the sport is more inclusive than it’s ever been”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
'A new era of hurricanes'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
How Britain's demographic is changing
A 50-year record population increase was fuelled by greater migration
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
The story of Japanese jeweller Tasaki
The Blend A revival in the use of pearls in fashion and jewellery design places heritage brand Tasaki centre stage
By Felix Bischof Published
-
Is it time for Anthony Joshua to retire?
After his latest brutal defeat, British boxing's 'poster boy' has a difficult choice to make
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
After Tua injury, can NFL make progress on concussions?
Today's Big Question Dolphins QB faces calls to retire
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
The 'Swiss model' shaking up the Champions League
In The Spotlight Uefa says the new format offers 'greater excitement' but critics say boredom is guaranteed
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Raygun: heir to Eddie the Eagle?
Talking Point Australian Olympic breakdancer Rachael Gunn has become 'a worldwide meme'
By The Week UK Published
-
Boxing at the Olympics: the row over sexual differences
Talking Point Controversy over Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting shines a spotlight on the murky world of gender testing – and the IOC's inaction
By The Week UK Published
-
The long-awaited return of the college football video game
In the Spotlight EA Sports' 'College Football 25' is the first installment of the series in 11 years
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Gareth Southgate's England: a bittersweet swan song
In Depth History books will favour football manager who transformed culture of football in England
By The Week UK Published
-
What can England learn from Spain's sporting prowess?
Today's Big Question Long-term investment in coaching young talent brings Spanish success at Euros and Wimbledon
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published