Barton:"within 10 years there will be an openly gay professional footballer"

[Stanley]

There are currently around 5,000 professional footballers in Britain, but none are openly gay. Amal Fashanu, niece of Justin Fashanu, asks why no gay player has followed in her uncle's boots in nearly 25 years.

Joey Barton, Queen's Park Rangers outspoken captain, feels close to the issue as his father's youngest brother initially hid his homosexuality. Barton highlighted "archaic figures" in management positions as an obstacle to gay players.

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[Cornish R]

is he coming out then?

[Shania]

An important issue for many fotballers.

[theblackmafia.]

An important issue for many fotballers.

Is it?

[80sCasual]

"within 10 years there will be an openly gay professional footballer"

Is he really gonna take that long to come out?

[BUSHRANGER1982]

Who cares?

It's not, I repeat, NOT, important.

It's bad enough you can't watch the TV without seeing one every ten seconds, now it's suddenly imperative that we have footballers boring us to death about how proud they are to be sausage jockeys.

[stainrodisalegend]

Who cares?

It's not, I repeat, NOT, important.

It's bad enough you can't watch the TV without seeing one every ten seconds, now it's suddenly imperative that we have footballers boring us to death about how proud they are to be sausage jockeys.

Oh dear...

[MattyRangers]

Who cares?

It's not, I repeat, NOT, important.

It's bad enough you can't watch the TV without seeing one every ten seconds, now it's suddenly imperative that we have footballers boring us to death about how proud they are to be sausage jockeys.

[DeepcutHoop]

Who cares?

It's not, I repeat, NOT, important.

It's bad enough you can't watch the TV without seeing one every ten seconds, now it's suddenly imperative that we have footballers boring us to death about how proud they are to be sausage jockeys.

Don't like the gays forcing it down your throat?

It will be much sooner than ten years IMO, there must be several players that currently have to hide their sexuality, because of the lack of maturity of a large number of players and fans, and that's appalling in the 21st century in a supposedly civilised country.

Other sports seem to be able to cope with accepting people for who they are. If rugby can behave like grown-ups why not football?

[vespa]

[QUOTE=DeepcutHoop;798659]Don't like the gays forcing it down your throat?

No i`ll swerve that if its all the same !

[PedalR]

Gay people don't bother me at all, someone's sexuality is completely irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. Incessantly screamng/mincing/queeny blokes irritate me though.

[stainrodisalegend]

Gay people don't bother me at all, someone's sexuality is completely irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. Incessantly screamng/mincing/queeny blokes irritate me though.

personally i dont find them any more ludicrous than the other extreme - blokes trying to play mr macho and being weirdly wound up by gays. always makes me wonder what it is they have to hide...

[maverick69]

Gay people don't bother me at all, someone's sexuality is completely irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. Incessantly screamng/mincing/queeny blokes irritate me though.

Hear hear.

Just because someone is gay - it doesn't give them a season pass to act like a complete tw&t and harp on about what they get up to with each other.

At the same time - any descrimination because of their sexuality per se is bang out of order and not for this day and age.

[Factamondo]

as my old black man friend 'percy' told me once.....'man not meant for grind man'..........that was good enough for me!..........you cant put diesel in a petrol engine!!!

[EYR]

I don't like mincers that noncy voice and flappy hand movements. Look at that rugby chap who's a turd burgler and compare him to Louis ####ing Spence