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Justin Campaign Hails Gay Footballers Documentary
The BBC documentary Britain’s Gay Footballers was welcomed by the campaign against homophobia in football.
"To see the issue, one which the campaign has been working hard to highlight since 2008, now starting to get the coverage it deserves is extremely exciting," the organisation said.
No player or official in Britain has come out since Justin Fashanu in 1990. He was routinely subjected to homophobic abuse by fans while playing after he revealed his sexuality.
Fashanu committed suicide in 1998 at the age of 37.
In the documentary, which aired on BBC3 last night, Monday January 30, Justin's neice, Amal Fashanu, explored the reasons for the lack of out gay soccer players in Britain.
The programme boosted BBC3's ratings by 50%.
Fashanu interviewed Queen's Park Rangers captain Joey Barton for the programme, who said there were "archaic figures" in the footballing world who would discriminate against gay players.
A spokesperson for the Justin Campaign said: "Football still has a very long way to go in properly dealing with the problems of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia within the sport. However, the more the issue is discussed and is brought out of the closet, the easier it will be to address the problems.
"The fact that we are now working in partnership with major organisations and clubs in the game shows how far we have come. We hope that the momentum increases and we can finally reach a time when sexuality is no longer a barrier to being a footballer or a fan."