A leading German soccer player has urged gay players to come out and called for a radical rethink about homosexuality in the sport.
Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez has broken ranks with the soccer establishment, including members of his own team and the German Football Federation (DFB), who have warned that coming out could destroy a player’s career, but Gomez, who has not said whether he is gay, told a German magazine that being honest about their sexuality would improve gay players’ performance.
“They would play as if they had been liberated,” Gomez said. “Being gay should no longer be a taboo topic.”
The 25-year-old, who was voted German player of the year in 2006-2007, added that there were plenty of role models in the rest of German society to give gay players the courage to come out.
“We’ve got a gay vice chancellor [Guido Westerwelle]; the Berlin mayor [Klaus Wowereit] is gay. So professional footballers should own up to their preference,” he said.
There are no openly gay players in Germany’s Bundesliga, although it is estimated that about 10 percent of players are gay.
The only German player to have come out is Marcus Urban, who told his teammates in 1997 and promptly ended his professional career. The 39-year-old waited until 2007 before going public with his story, saying he had hoped to encourage other gay players and trainers to come out and therefore contribute to more acceptance and tolerance in soccer.
The DFB said that while it was campaigning against homophobia in soccer and would support any player who chose to come out, it could not ignore the problems that would accompany such a decision.
“The first homosexual who outs himself in professional football will not have an easy time of it,” DFB president Theo Zwanziger said.
The only British soccer player to have outed himself while active in the sport was Justin Fashanu in 1990. The Sun tabloid newspaper paid him a six-figure sum to run the headline: “I am gay.”
Fashanu killed himself in 1998 after a 17-year-old boy accused him of sexual assault, a charge Fashanu denied.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about £2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from