Britain's Gay Footballers

This programme contains some strong language

There are currently around 5,000 professional footballers in Britain.

But incredibly, not a single one of them has come out publicly as gay.

In fact, there has only ever been one openly gay footballer

in the whole history of the British game.

His name was Justin Fashanu and he was a true pioneer.

COMMENTATOR: Fashanu... Oh, what a goal!

Oh, that's a magnificent goal.

My name is Amal Fashanu and I'm proud to say

he was my uncle before he tragically committed suicide.

Justin Fashanu has been found dead in a garage in East London.

14 years since death, it saddens me

that no footballer has ever followed in Justin's boots.

He was desperate for his coming out to pave the way

for future gay players to be accepted in the game.

Doors are not being opened because of the sexuality and I don't think that's right.

So, I went on a mission to uncover why no gay footballer in Britain

has come forward publicly since my uncle.

These archaic figures think if they had a gay footballer, there'd be,

all kinds of shenanigans going on in the dressing room.

I think there's more chance of the next Pope being black

than you finding a footballer who will come out.

Do you know of any gay professionals?

There have been half a dozen that I know are either gay or bisexual.

But I didn't realise this would also expose me

to some dark secrets, very close to home.

SHE SOBS

It's destroyed my family. It's really destroyed my family.

DISTANT CHEERING

I wanted to give you a very edgy, punk look.

So the first one is all black with this?

'I'm Amal Fashanu and I'm 23 years old.

'Since leaving university, I've begun a career in fashion.'

# On the runway Dressed in his best

# On the fashion

# On the runway, work it... #

Unlike football, it's an industry with many openly gay people.

# I'm new compassion... #

I love that position, but give it more...

-That's it.

-It's too much.

This is too much.

'I discussed my task ahead with colleagues.'

What do you guys think? Do you think there are gay footballers?

I think that gays are part of every society,

whichever walks of life you may come from,

from music to fashion to football, to professional lives, they're everywhere.

So how come in a team of 25 or however many,

there's no gay players?

I say football is the gayest sport on earth.

-It's what, a bunch of 22 guys chasing the ball?

-It is!

-And another 60,000 men jumping on top of each other.

-It's true.

How gay could you get?

I can see a footballer standing up and openly coming out and admitting he's gay.

I can see it happening, because times are changing.

'There was only place to begin.

'With my Dad, John Fashanu, who was Justin's brother.'

We're on our way to see my Dad John

and I'm hoping that he'll be able

to answer my question of why there isn't any openly gay footballers

at the moment, or have ever been, apart from my uncle Justin.

I think it's a good starting point because he was a footballer at that time.

COMMENTATOR: Fashanu has turned away...

Fashanu, for Wimbledon!

'Known as Fash the Bash...

'..my Dad used to play for Wimbledon's legendary "Crazy Gang".

'They were famous for their wild antics, both on and off the pitch.

'He later became a high profile TV presenter.'

'These days, he works in Nigeria,

'so I've caught him on a flying visit to London.

-You're looking good.

-Thank you.

So what's new, what's happening?

So I've been trying to find out

why there are no openly gay players in England.

Are there gay players?

I mean, if there's homosexuals,

gays, in the world, it would be very unusual if they weren't in football.

It's not that they're not, it's just that they don't want to come out. That's just the truth of it.

Well, why do you think it is that they don't want to come out?

Well, if you look at the history of your uncle, Justin,

his coming out wasn't favourable.

I don't think in two decades of football,

I have ever witnessed the abuse your uncle received,

from all sections of the stadium.

Just remember, Justin was one of the first black

£1 million players. You know?

Being black alone was a challenge.

That in itself was a challenge.

So being black and gay must have made it way worse?

Being gay is a different ball game completely.

That's a different level.

Remember, this is a macho men's game.

The game of football is the bully boys, the bulldog,

slide tackle in a wet day,

mud all over your face, a few cuts.

It was never for two men

to do a slide tackle and then go back and kiss each other.

That was not what we believed and we were brought up on.

So, Dad, now that kind of leaves me

thinking, like, realistically, what chances do I have

of actually finding an openly... you know, a gay player who's going

to come speak to me or, you know, in the next year going to come out?

Well, I think there's more chance of the next Pope being black

than you finding a footballer who will come out and say he's gay.

Even straight players will not talk about gay players.

Or gay society. It's going to be a challenge.

-OK, darling.

-Thank you so much for the dinner, Dad.

-OK.

-Thank you.

-You pay next time.

Thanks, thanks for that one!

I know that obviously society has changed since my dad was young

and I would like to believe that football's changed,

but from what my dad says, it seems like football's stuck

in that mentality of 50 years ago.

But, generally, I would find it very sad

if not one straight player would want to speak about the issue.

'So I spent several days chasing interviews with current players...'

Hi. I'm Amal Fashanu...

'.about why they have no openly gay colleagues.'

I'm making a documentary. Are you interested in an interview?

..Your views as to what you think...

..questions as to why there are no openly gay footballers?

You know, do you know any gay footballers?

..If one of your team members was gay?

Would he be interested in doing an interview? Any chance of an interview?

I've been trying to call and email loads and loads of footballers

and Premiership clubs.

You know, people like Rio Ferdinand, Joe Hart, Theo Walcott, John Terry.

And it seems that either they don't want to do an interview

or they're just too busy.

I don't know, you know, it's disappointing.

Maybe what my dad had said about homophobic abuse at football grounds was still all-important.

To what extent were the fans

not only preventing gay players from being open,

but also discouraging straight players from even talking about the subject?

I decided to find out for myself

by going to watch Brighton and Hove Albion play Leeds United in a league match.

How do you think it would be accepted if a player came out as being gay in your team?

As long as he was good, I don't think it matters, to be honest.

I mean, there is nothing wrong with being gay or with being gay in football.

I think you have opposition fans that will give abuse to players, because they're opposition fans.

But I think if it's your team, the regular fan is more enlightened than that.

'Because Brighton is the UK's most famous gay city,

'I was told opposition fans often make fun of this.'

What types of chants do they do, you know?

What do they sing?

"We can see you holding hands", "Stand up if you can't sit down",

"Does your boyfriend know you're here?"

"We know why you've got soft seats," things like that

and we have to sing back "You're too ugly to be gay".

# You're too ugly to be gay You're too ugly too be gay. #

Do you regard these chants as homophobic abuse or just banter?

My personal opinion is that it's homophobic abuse and it needs to be wiped out.

It's football banter, isn't it, you know? I don't think they go home

and start shouting it at the railway station and all that. I think it's just in here.

If racial abuse is banned, then why is homophobic abuse not banned?

So I'm going into the game now and I'm going to see for myself

if all the chanting that they say that there is, is true.

And it didn't take long for some Leeds fans to get going.

I've literally been here for like ten minutes

and I've heard exactly what the fans outside said that they would say.

It grew into a very heated match, with both sets of fans singing

and shouting all the way through.

The game has now finished. It's been a really tribal atmosphere,

really intense and really intimidating.

I really wouldn't want to be a footballer out there. It's scary!

Many Leeds fans had not been chanting about Brighton's reputation as a gay city.

But I left under the strong impression that an openly gay player on any team would have to suffer

taunts from sections of any opposing fans.

However, I still wasn't sure how far this was to blame

for why there are no publicly gay professional footballers.

So who better to ask than one of football's most famous gay fans,

comedian Matt Lucas?

We hooked up outside his favourite ground.

I went to Brighton to see a football game

and I think I was a bit, you know, shocked.

They just have homophobic chants continuously being

-shouted at them like...

-Really?

Yeah. "We can see you holding hands".

Sorry to interrupt, but I think "We can see you holding hands" is actually quite witty.

-Yeah.

-I've think you've got to allow a little bit.

You know, you've got to be able to have a bit of a laugh and a joke.

Once you're calling someone, you know, "effing poof" or something like that,

then it's obviously, it's nasty and it's intended to be bullying and intimidating.

Singing, "We can see you holding hands", I'd probably sing that

if Arsenal were playing Brighton.

'Matt brought up the baseless rumours invented

'about former England star Sol Campbell's sexuality

'by some Tottenham fans, following his transfer to bitter rivals Arsenal.'

The words of the chant were a new low.

"Sol, Sol, wherever you may be, not long now till lunacy,

"and we won't give a fuck when you're hanging from a tree, you Judas BLEEP with HIV."

-Wow.

-Now... Yeah.

Now, you know, that's when it's wrong on a million levels.

But I don't think you can compare "We can see you holding hands" to that.

It's pretty shocking, hey?

It's really shocking and it's kind of illegal.

'Campbell has denied he is gay and Tottenham have since

'made successful efforts to eradicate this chant.'

So who would you say are the main obstacle for footballers to come out?

Would you say it's the fans?

You know, I know that your uncle's experiences of being open,

-admittedly quite a long time ago...

-Yeah.

-..Weren't positive.

And certainly, if you came out, as a footballer,

the opposing fans would give you hell.

There's absolutely no doubt about it.

But I do think if you're a good player and you're popular,

-your own fans will protect you.

-Yeah.

And they will chant back.

And I think, after a while, it will become boring. You know.

If the fans try and goad you, and you don't respond, then they're going to move on to something else.

Thank you so, so much for everything.

It's been very nice to meet you. You're a very pleasant young lady.

-Thank you.

-All the best. Bye-bye. Cut!

Having spoken to Matt Lucas, I think I've realised that fans

aren't the only problem as to why there are no openly gay players in England.

You know, I think it's not as simple

as the fans are going to scream abuse at you if you come out.

There's more factors which influence why you wouldn't want to come out.

Matt's reference to my uncle Justin spurred me

to delve deeper into his struggles as a gay player.

I figured this would help explain

why no gay footballer has followed in Justin's boots since.

Well, this one, at the top here, that's Justin.

And this one, underneath here, is my dad and Justin together.

Look, they're so cute if you zoom in.

After their mother put Justin and my dad up for adoption as kids,

they were raised together by white foster parents

in the Norfolk countryside.

At this point, I think they're really, really close.

They were inseparable at this time. Mischievous. They're just cheeky!

These two... Wow.

Whereas my Dad initially didn't make it as a professional footballer,

Justin's career started with a bang.

COMMENTATOR: Here's Fashanu again and that is three.

MUSIC: "Blue Monday" by New Order

As just a teenager,

he became a goal-scoring sensation for Norwich City.

Oh, and Fashanu's through here for Norwich.

Fashanu came in.

This included one the greatest goals of all time.

Fashanu... Oh, what a goal! Oh, that's a magnificent goal.

Didn't seem to be the room between...

-I take it is the best goal you've scored?

-Yeah, without a doubt.

He earned a big money transfer to Nottingham Forest in 1981,

as the first ever million-pound black player.

How do you want to see your life developing over the next ten years?

I would like to get richer and more famous.

Back then Forest were a big club, winning trophies

under legendary manager Brian Clough.

Get in there, that's what I pay you for.

Famous for taking no nonsense from his players.

For missing the target from there, you want bloody shooting.

Fashanu...

But the move was a disaster.

Clough took against Justin's failure to score goals on the pitch...

-And here's Fashanu.

-..And his first visits to gay clubs off it.

Surprised to discover that Clough publicly referred

to my uncle as a "poof", I was keen to gauge

if these kinds of attitudes are still prevalent

around football today.

So I travelled to see one of Justin's former team-mates at Nottingham Forest.

We're on our way to Nottingham to meet John McGovern,

who was close to Brian Clough and was also Justin's team captain.

I have a few tough questions to ask him

and I'm just really intrigued to know what he has to say.

'These days, John is a BBC football commentator.'

And here we've got one or two photographs of obviously

when the club was very, very successful and champions of Europe.

As you can see I was the captain,

so I was the first one to lay my hands on the cup,

but I'm surrounded by some very, very talented players.

'When we got talking about Justin, I quickly learned

'John didn't put my uncle in this bracket.'

So basically he didn't really perform well on the pitch?

No, no. No, not well enough.

He just never managed to find his form

and things didn't go too well for him.

How did Justin fit into the team you played for?

Just like one of the players. I mean, you know, he'd crack a joke.

We'd take the mickey out of him, he'd take the mickey out of us.

He was no different from any other player in that sense.

He used to smell nice. He used to smell lovely.

Did Justin get teased by other team-mates for his sexuality?

Well, I know he came out and said he was gay, but we didn't actually know at the time.

Because he hadn't come out at that time and said he was gay.

-So no-one knew, no-one suspected.

-No.

-Or was it rumours?

I think the only thing he'd have suffered from is the lads

maybe taking the mickey out of him, because of that situation.

Because footballers take the mickey out of everybody.

In his autobiography, Clough refers to Justin as a poof.

-Um, what do you think about that?

-HE LAUGHS

-Well, I take it that's a slang word for a homosexual.

-Yes.

So Justin was a homosexual, so...

-But was it OK to call him a poof?

-HE CONTINUES LAUGHING

Well, I'm laughing because, at the time, we would've laughed as well, as footballers.

Because, you know, that's...

I don't even call that discrimination, you know.

It's...it's another word for what we're talking about,

being a homosexual. I don't know... "Gay" is another one, you know.

If he'd have called him gay, which I think is perhaps more acceptable.

But, I think it would only be used in a comical sense.

Rather than trying to victimise somebody, you know.

Why do you think there are no openly gay professional footballers now in England?

I don't know, I don't know. There probably are,

but why they don't want to come out, I don't know.

-Do you know of any?

-Do I know of any? No.

There are lots of former players from John's generation

working in and around football today off the pitch.

I left our meeting, even more eager for an opportunity to compare

the attitudes of footballers playing on the pitch now.

Back in London, I hooked up with my friend, Tuni.

-# Girls, money, money, money

-Girls, girls, cash, cash. #

-Oh, my gosh, they have three colours.

-I know.

It will go with your skin colour. How would you wear that?

-Buy them and wear them.

-These are so nice.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

'We got talking about what I'd been finding out.'

Do you think stuff has actually changed with football now?

The thing is, from what I've been hearing

and the people I've been interviewing, I think football's

really stuck in an era which we can't move, you know?

It's really sad that no gay footballers have come out since Justin. It's really sad.

I think it might be a kind of situation

where if more people came out then it would become more acceptable.

But because no-one really has come out since Justin,

then it just makes it a lot harder

for anyone who is thinking about coming out,

cos they don't want to have to face those pressures.

I get it, but then it's like no-one ever's going to come out.

So we're never going to tackle that situation.

So something has to be done.

If there are any gay players,

they're probably so petrified of coming out

that it's going to be really, really hard for times to change.

In my quest to discover why there are no openly gay professional players,

so far I had not met anyone who even knew OF a gay player.

But there was one man I could count on here.

I'm meeting one of the biggest bosses in the PR world.

If there's anybody who knows about celebrities

and their secrets, it's definitely him.

Could you give us a rough estimate of how many players you know

who are gay, in football?

I'd say in the last 15-20 years,

probably half a dozen that I know are either gay or bisexual.

There's been others that I suspect.

What do you think are the chances of getting a big name,

you know, of a player currently playing now, of coming out?

I've been asked a thousand times in the last five years. No.

Won't happen.

You know, when gay footballers have come to me over the years,

looking to protect their identity, they made it very clear to me

that, in their view, you know, their career would be finished

if they were known to be openly gay.

So I'm not going to give them a load of advice

because some TV producer wants them to come out.

What would the reaction be in the dressing room

if a footballer came out as being gay?

Um... The reaction that I've got from footballers in that situation

has been that it would be totally unacceptable to the other players.

They would be ostracised.

I think also the mentality of most people in and around football,

goes back pretty much to the Dark Ages.

They're still as frightened now as they would have been ten years ago.

If a player says he wants to come out as being gay and face the world and media,

I'm kind of wondering for agents, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Most of the football agents that I know

are only interested in one thing, and that's money.

So if, by their star coming out,

it's going to affect their earnings, then they won't want them to do it.

That's all part of the football mentality,

which is money, money, money.

In Max's mind,

there was no doubt that homophobia is a serious problem in football.

On the surface, rugby is an even tougher and more macho game.

But in 2009, Welsh legend Gareth Thomas

amazed the whole country by announcing that he was gay.

'At a celebrity charity event...

'..I was able to meet the man who has become

'Britain's most iconic gay sportsman.'

Hi, Gareth, nice meeting you. I'm Amal Fashanu.

-Nice to meet you, are you OK?

-You OK?

'I managed to grab Gareth and some recently retired rugby stars

'for a chat about the different attitudes

'to homosexuality within rugby and football.'

So could you just kind of explain to me

how it happened or why you decided to come out?

Was it very difficult for you?

It was a huge weight lifted off your shoulder and...

You know, to walk around the street

and, you know, have friends who want to be your friends

because of who you are in entirety,

not because of who you create yourself to be.

And your family to love you for who you are in your entirety

is...is a feeling that most people take for granted.

But it's a feeling that I never had and it's the best,

most overwhelming feeling I felt and still feel to this day.

What is it about rugby that's different?

When I came out, the WRU, Welsh Rugby Union, who are the governing body

of the country I played in, they came out after

and they issued a message of support and that was brilliant.

They sent out a really good message.

I think there wasn't a single person that said anything.

Well, as far as from...

Observing from a distance, everyone's very supportive

and that Gareth's Gareth, you know?

He's always been Gareth to me, hasn't he?

-Fortunately he still always will be!

-You're right there, man.

You have to remember we play a pretty physical sport.

You beat the crap out of each other half the time.

Outsiders may see cuddling in the scrum, your head between each other's legs.

I can tell you, there's nothing romantic about that!

Do you think the football authorities care enough about this issue?

I think if the FA were to come out and make a statement saying,

"We will stamp on anything."

Then it will create a safer environment that's comfortable

for the footballer to be able to walk into now.

For me, that's the important thing.

There's a pool of talent that doesn't want to go

into football cos they're afraid to.

You don't have to, just because you've not got a gay footballer,

say, "We don't need to do anything."

Do something and then, you know what? In ten years, you may have 20 gay footballers

and the Premier League could be a better place for it.

'It was pretty easy to speak to rugby players about this issue

'and it didn't seem to bother them that much

'as it does with footballers.

'Gareth, as he said, they accepted him for who he was'

while being his team-mates, his coaches, you know, the people around him, his family.

He's obviously had a positive experience.

'The next day my Mum came over from her home in Spain

'to help me move flat.'

-Can you help me please put it on the bed?

-OK.

'She was one of my uncle Justin's closest friends.'

-You can start folding if you can help me.

-OK.

'She brought over some possessions which have been locked in her attic

'since his death.'

This one is when I went to visit him in New Zealand.

We went out to a pub and then we went to a disco

and it was a great night out.

He looks so huge, he can't fit under the table.

Nah, I mean, he was very muscley.

We had a great time in New Zealand and people like him there very much.

He was very happy in New Zealand.

I'm glad you look so happy.

'The support shown to Gareth Thomas by his family had stuck in my mind.

'So the conversation inevitably turned to how my family reacted

'to Justin announcing he was gay.'

When Justin came out in 1990, what actually...

You would have supported him, I know you would have, right?

-Even if he was gay, it didn't really matter.

-Of course I did. I mean...

-So he wasn't totally alone?

-No. No, no, no, no.

I mean, to me, you are still the same person, I will still love him

and I didn't give him any negative comment. Completely the opposite.

Do you think other members of my family and probably his friends

supported him as well, though?

Mmm... OK. Difficult question, Amal.

Er... I know some of them,

they were not happy with it and they were not supportive.

What was my Dad's reaction when he came out? You know, Justin.

Well, I think it's an answer for your dad to give it to you.

Because, I mean...

At the time I was very upset, and...

I maybe can give you the wrong answer.

And he is the one who is going to really tell you

exactly how he felt and how he reacted.

What was Justin and John's relationship like?

John was little bit jealous of Justin.

John was younger than Justin and Justin made it straightaway,

But Justin was too many things happening to him at the same time

and I think he forgot a little bit his younger brother.

I don't know it was sad as well that they fell apart so badly

because - and then it was like a competition between them,

do you know what I mean? That... That...

Distanced them?

Yeah, a lot.

The former footballer Justin Fashanu has been found dead...

My mum left me a documentary to watch about Justin's life,

made shortly after his suicide in the late 90s.

Because of my young age at the time,

my dad had never allowed me to watch this before.

This is a film about a man who had everything.

Looks, talent, money.

Who lost it all and died alone in shame.

I discovered how my Dad reacted in the media to Justin's coming out.

The fact he's come out publicly and said his sexual preferences.

And now he'll have to suffer the consequences.

I wouldn't like to play or get changed in the vicinity of him.

That's just the way I feel.

If I'm like that, I'm sure the rest of the footballers are.

It's disappointed me, because I thought he had more depth

and more tolerance, I think, is the word, because we have been through

so much together, especially as kids, we've been through so much,

that I think it's disappointed me, I thought he was better than that.

Have I spoken to him? No, I haven't spoken to John.

With Justin's star on the wane, I learned that he later

fabricated stories about his sexual conquests to sell to the tabloids.

I was in a situation where I thought this was easy money

because people were convinced that I was involved.

I have never, ever had any sexual...

Four years later, in 1998, Justin was accused of sexually assaulting

a 17-year-old boy in America.

Distraught, he fled back to the UK.

On May 1st Justin Fashanu hanged himself in a lock up garage in London's East End.

He'd found out police in Maryland had issued a warrant for his arrest.

For the first time, I heard the suicide message my uncle wrote.

"Well, if anyone finds this note,

"hopefully I won't be around to see it.

"But let's begin at the beginning. What a start.

"Everything going so well.

"Then I felt that I was abandoned,

"left alone without anybody to turn to."

"Being gay and a personality is so hard."

"I want to say that I didn't sexually assault the young boy. He willingly had sex with me

"and then the next day he asked for money.

"When I said no, he said, 'You wait and see.'

"The blood is from my wrists, cut because I want to die,

"rather than put my friends and family through any more unhappiness."

"I wish that I was more of a good son, brother, uncle and friend.

"But I tried my best. This seems to be a really hard world."

Give me a sec.

Well, I think as a ten year old, rightly so, my family,

or my parents, tried to protect me.

So I don't think that I've been exposed in a while.

I know this might stupid and I'm 22, but...

It's destroyed my family, it's really destroyed my family.

I'm just really upset that I wasn't there

and that I wasn't 22 back then.

Because if I was 22 back then, I don't know, I'm not saying

I could have changed everything but I think he only needed

that one family member, maybe, or two or three or

someone to help, I don't know.

He shouldn't have felt alone. I think that's what most upset me.

Whether he's gay or not gay. He just shouldn't have been alone.

I now knew I would have to confront my dad

about his disloyalty to Justin, when I next saw him face to face.

In the meantime, one of my many calls to footballers and clubs finally paid off.

I was given an opportunity at last to ask some current professionals

about the lack of openly gay players.

I was invited down to training at Championship club, Millwall.

Since it's famously one of the toughest clubs around,

I was a bit unsure how they would react to my questions.

I tried to get a group discussion going,

but a lot of the players were not keen to talk at all.

Justin Fashanu was my uncle

and basically we're just talking about homophobia in football.

We're just kind of saying, you know, what you guys think,

if one of your teammates came out gay, what would you think,

you know, what would you say?

The recent 10, 13 years, no one has really come out

apart from uncle.

I just wanted to let you know if you want to do it, you know.

-You've got you your player now?

-I don't know, I'll think about it.

Yeah? But please think about it.

I've come in here and tried to approach five or six

and everyone's just like...

'But thankfully some of the more senior members of the squad were up for it.'

'What I really wanted to know is how they would react to a gay teammate.'

The lads are so supportive in the dressing room, I don't think

there would be any problems within that sort of environment.

I wouldn't have any problems with that whatsoever.

In my personal life, I've got a couple of friends back home

in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire that are gay men.

If a player did come out I think they would be happy

if there was that sort of banter, in the dressing room

because it means they've been accepted within the dressing room.

If that's your preference,

if you find men more attractive than women, then so be it.

It's just another part that makes up your character and

makes up the different characters that make up a dressing room.

Why don't more players think like you?

Players don't really want to come out and talk about homosexuality

because they don't really want to be sort of labelled to be sort of gay.

There is this sort of stigma with being gay

and it's about putting that stigma to be bed.

Do you know any gay players?

There has been suspicions of a few players over the years.

But, no, I don't know any openly gay players.

They say that one in ten men are gay.

Now, I'm wondering do you think in your team you have any gay members?

Erm... I couldn't honestly answer that knowing for sure.

Obviously there is no-one in our team that's come out

and said to any of us in private.

How hard do you think it's going to be for me to find one?

I think you've got work cut out, I've got to be honest.

Well played!

'To hear straight players express positive words

'about accepting gay colleagues was a genuine revelation.'

From what I've heard from them,

I just really don't think that the team-mates care.

And I think it would be banter and they obviously would comment

and from time to time say something, but I don't think

it would be harmful, like, discrimination to call it that.

And I'm kind of pleased because at least I know that

if there was a gay player who wanted to be open,

he could finally maybe come out and feel supported by his team-mates.

'By now, word had spread around football

'that I was looking into why there are no publicly gay players.

'A professional referee made contact to say

'he wanted to talk openly about being homosexual in the game.

'But his superiors later told us that match officials aren't

'allowed to talk to the press as a general rule.'

'Fearing for his career,

'the referee felt he could not go ahead with our interview.'

I'm really frustrated, the fact that this guy actually wanted to come out.

You know, he had taken the choice that he wanted to come out,

and his bosses have now said no.

To be honest with you, it's what I've been seeing in football,

it's just a typical attitude in football.

'I had run into the brick wall of the football authorities.

'To try and make sense of this,

'I met up with one of Britain's loudest gay rights campaigners.

'Former NBA basketball star John Amaechi

'believes there is one underlying explanation

'for football's attitudes to homosexuality.'

Football in particular's got some very detailed problems.

They're run by a group of straight, white, old men.

Football is clearly not that comfortable

with women in boardrooms.

They're clearly not that comfortable with black people in management positions.

And so, when it comes to gay people, that just blows their mind, I think.

Homophobia happens in boardrooms.

I've been in rooms with people who are talking about football players

and whether they might be gay or not.

And some of the things they say, it takes me back

to being 11 years old.

So you would say, kind of, that football hasn't moved on from then?

The real problem that I have with it is that they've got every resource.

They've got near unlimited money.

They've got the power to change this. My question is whether they want to.

Do you personally know any gay players yourself?

There are certainly some gay players in the league

who talk about having a reasonably open life.

They may not be out to their manager in any kind of way

that they've discussed it, but they are the kind of players

who actually go to the parties of their team-mates with their partner.

So it's open in that sense - they just haven't told the entire universe.

So you're always thinking about, "This situation is comfortable, but what happens when I move?

"What happens if I play for..."

..I won't say any names,

but one of the more old school and successful managers

who aren't that cool with new-fangled stuff

like people being who they are?

I think it's surprised me that there are gay players and they've come out to their team-mates.

But obviously the fact that players are comfortable to come out

to their family members and team-mates,

it's obvious that there's another problem here.

The FA, and the chairmen and managers of teams, are the ones

who have the power to help change.

'I was building a clearer picture of all the conditions

'required for footballers to feel comfortable being openly homosexual.

'But I was soon reminded of everything my uncle Justin was denied here

'when my dad got in touch to say he was passing through London.'

Driving towards my dad, I'm feeling a bit angry

and maybe a bit upset as well.

I don't really know what reaction he's going to have,

because obviously I've never spoken to my dad about the issue of Justin.

I don't really agree with most of the things that he said

about Justin at the time, and in a way it almost

feels like he's disowned his brother.

So I'm just wondering now if he feels the same way.

-Hello, Daddy, how are you?

-Are you OK, darling? Come in, sweetie.

-Yes, thank you, how are you?

-Come in, darling. How was your trip?

-It was good, thank you.

-All good? Good, good, good.

When Justin came out publicly,

can you see why some people would see your behaviour as being homophobic?

I'm not homophobic, I never have been.

But at the time, I was certainly cross with my brother. Certainly.

But do you ever not think that

he was confused, he was lost, and that he would have maybe

liked the support of his family in order to face the reality

that he was gay and wanted to share it with the whole world?

Wonderful! Who gives a hoot? A rat's bottom, whether you're gay or not,

nobody cares.

It was the WAY it came out.

Cheap, dirty, horrible scandals, day after day.

Going on the front page,

saying that you've had sexual relationships with MPs,

going in the newspapers saying that you

have had relationships with young boys, or accusations.

All these things were scandals.

I'm sorry, we have a reputation, we have a name to protect.

We're not all working to now be scandalised

by one member of our family.

But do you think that going on TV like you did

and saying the things you did was the best way to handle it?

Well, yeah, some viewers will say, "Look at Big Fash, he's selfish."

We're all selfish here. We were all selfish.

Justin was selfish,

because to come out and not care or worry about anybody else

and tell the world you are gay, at a time when... It was so hostile!

What I did, I did what I thought was right for our family. Our family.

And myself.

If you would do everything again, would you change anything you did?

Mmm...

I don't know.

Well, I don't know.

Mistakes were made...

It's OK, kiddo.

It's OK.

SHE SNIFFS

It's OK, darling.

We miss him.

-SHE SNIFFS

-It's OK.

It's OK.

We move on. We move on.

In Justin's suicide note, he does say that, you know,

he makes emphasis of how hard it was for him to be gay.

Do you feel that, you know,

there was something more you could have done to help him in any way?

We tried. As a family we tried, Amal.

I sleep at night wondering, all the time, could I have done more?

And I keep coming up with the answer yes, I could have done more.

Does that console me, does that... No.

Don't cry, darling.

It's OK, darling.

No more tears.

We've cried for nearly two decades with Justin.

It's enough.

It's like yesterday - it's painful.

I think my dad is very, very angry still.

No matter how much time passes,

I think that that anger's not going to go away,

because Justin's not going to come back.

I think I've come to realise myself that, yeah, maybe Justin wasn't

the perfect person that I had painted when I was ten years old.

Maybe he DID do some things that upset our family.

But having said that, I still don't excuse my dad

for kind of disowning his brother publicly, as he did.

So it's...it's all a bit complicated.

'It was clear to me now

'that Justin's unhappy experiences

'on both a personal and professional level must still cast a dark shadow

'over any gay footballer in Britain.'

'To find out what it takes for a gay footballer today to make

'the giant leap into the public eye, I had to travel a long way from British football.

'All the way down to the Swedish fourth division.'

-Hi, Anton.

-How are you doing? Do I get a hug?

-Yeah, of course.

-How was the flight?

'Until recently Anton Hysen was only known to a few

'as the son of former Liverpool legend, Glenn Hysen.

'But last year Anton caused global shockwaves, when he became

'the world's only openly gay current professional footballer.'

So before coming out,

were you like, a typical footballer with a supermodel girlfriend,

blah, blah, blah and stuff like that...? What kind of happened?

I was like, well, something needs to be done, right?

I mean, I can't go on like this, just faking it.

And so I was just basically telling the truth.

And that is just what you gotta do. Be honest.

What about your team-mates? Were they supportive?

Did they always know about...

Some people knew three years ago already when I did this.

So, I mean, it hasn't been an issue. Nobody really cares.

-It was just a normal thing?

-Yeah.

They do more jokes now. They're like, "It's OK now to do jokes.

"We wanted to do it earlier but like, we see that it's OK now."

I'm like, "It's OK, whenever..." I mean, I don't care.

So your family was always very supportive

and they gave you basically everything you needed,

same as your friends?

Yeah. Nobody... I was, like, "Maybe some friends are going to turn their backs now when I do this."

But it was OK. Everyone was just fine with it.

'I also discovered that Anton never has to face any hostility

'or suspicion from local fans.'

How do you feel about having an openly gay professional footballer in your team?

I don't think we care, actually.

So they respect him quite a lot here?

Yeah, I think so.

I think you have a lot of players who are gay.

But they don't go out with that.

So I think it's really strong from Anton to do that.

'Well...practically no suspicion.'

It's all right he homosexual.

He can be that, it's all right,

but I don't want to shower with him and like that...

-You wouldn't want to shower with him?

-No. No, no.

Did you know that there was no other openly gay professional footballers?

No. Honestly the only one I knew about was Justin.

THEY ALL SHOUT

But you were still like, you know, brave enough to come out

and no problems?

Oh, yes, yes. I know, like, I feel and know who I am,

I'm strong... And I did have a lot of support,

so that's good as well.

-You are really brave.

-Thank you!

And I truly believe that. Like, honestly.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

'That evening, Anton invited me out with his team-mates to celebrate their victory.'

'It was clear Swedish society's liberal values have helped

'with his positive experience.'

From spending the day with Anton, I think the thing I've most

realised is that his social network and family and friends are very,

very close, and I think they're very, very supportive of what he's doing.

And obviously I can then appreciate how much easier it might have been

for him to come out as opposed to my uncle.

'I returned home to a significant breakthrough.

'After months of pursuing high-profile Premiership stars

'for an interview, one had finally agreed.'

'For the first time, a genuine big-name footballer was going

'to talk on TV about gay players.'

'However, Queens Park Rangers captain Joey Barton

'is not your typical Premiership star.'

'I soon learned we had something important in common.'

It's a subject that's close to my heart cos my dad's youngest brother,

so the youngest of my uncles, is gay.

And I didn't know for a long, long time.

He thought, because of the society we were brought up in

which was quite working class - that, you know,

men are men and this kind of thing - that it would be frowned upon.

Or that we would disown him.

So for a lot of years he was in turmoil, you know,

he was resenting himself for the fact he had these feelings.

I was like, "Look, you know, I love you for YOU.

"Not for the fact that you're straight or bisexual or gay

"or that you're like...all different manner of things.

"I love you because you're you."

How far away do you think we are from a gay player coming out?

There's no doubt in my mind that, within the next ten years,

we will have an openly gay footballer.

My only fear is, you know, certain managers,

certain individuals within the game, will discriminate against people.

These archaic figures think if they had a gay footballer

that there would be all kinds of shenanigans going on in the dressing room!

You know, that's not the case.

And as I say, it's more fool them and their lack of social awareness and intelligence.

It's been really hard to talk to straight players about this issue.

I sort of pity them a little bit that they don't have,

you know, enough about them or enough self-confidence

or enough self-worth to be able to say, "Do you know what, actually,

"this is a relevant subject and this is my opinion on it."

And I think it's important that the legacy

this generation of players leaves is of a generation of players

that helped not only change the game for the better

and change the teams that they played in,

but also change the culture and change the society of the football clubs they played at.

-Thank you.

-Nice to meet you, thank you.

-Thank you so much.

'This plain speaking,

'from one of the Premiership's best-known players, was refreshing.'

'But it was time to ask the people who actually run the game

'what they were doing to help gay footballers feel comfortable

'being open about their sexuality.'

'The Football Association invited me to their headquarters at Wembley Stadium.'

I'm surprised that, you know,

I'm speaking to a black female in the FA.

It's quite interesting that people have an assumption

and form stereotypes as to who is involved in the game.

The FA and football is changing

and it's not what it was 10, 15 years ago.

People like John Amaechi argue that the FA have done very little

to fight homophobia in football,

because the men who run the organisations have old-fashioned attitudes

and are not that concerned with the issue.

I can't necessarily speak for him, why he feels that way.

All I can say is there's genuine commitment across the FA

and at the top level to tackle this issue.

Some say that the FA hasn't really created an environment

to allow, you know... for gay players to come out.

One of the key things that we HAVE done is that we've put together a four-year plan,

ensuring that we portray gay people in football

and in sport in a positive light.

But what we are focused on is grass roots.

This is where, you know, millions of people play

and follow the game, and it's really important that we educate

and educate as widely as possible, and so therefore we feel that

certainly, you know, we are doing something about the whole agenda.

It's good to hear that the FA have a plan to make gay players

feel more comfortable and accepted in the future within football.

But it's a 4-year plan, and it's already been a whole 22 years

since my uncle came out.

I've learned that attitudes towards homosexuality in football

HAVE changed, but not as quickly as they should have.

Football clearly lags behind the rest of society

when it comes to accepting openly gay people.

To change things properly I think it's going to take another pioneer,

brave enough like my uncle, to step forward into the limelight.

And I think this will honour Justin's memory

in the way he deserves.

COMMENTATOR: 'Fashanu... Oh, what a goal. That's a magnificent goal!'

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]