ATTEMPTS by the Football Association to speak with gay professional footballers have hit a brick wall.
Not a single athlete has come forward to speak with Greg Clarke following an open invitation from the FA chairman.
Clarke had been hoping to speak with at least one player to discuss their thoughts on the fact that there isn’t a single openly-gay footballer in the top flight.
But he’s back to square one after failing to receive any responses, telling The Telegraph: “I understand the retinence. I went to the women’s cup final. It was great.
“There was gay, there was straight, there were kids, it was relaxed. It was like a big wedding reception. I had a great time. There was no judgement in the room. Everyone was there because they wanted to see the game.
“I’ve met a lot of gay activists, gay publishers. I went down to Stonewall, watched a game, had a beer in the bar afterwards – and talked about the issue.
“At the semi-pro level and below, nobody’s worried. I haven’t met one player at professional level who would even agree to meet me in the middle of nowhere for a conversation over a cup of coffee. Not one.
“I don’t blame them for that. If they don’t feel comfortable having that conversation, it doesn’t say good things about our game.
“I don’t want to speculate about what’s in their heads. They obviously don’t feel comfortable. We are all desperate to make the game more LGBT-inclusive.
“Why would you sign up for that potential risk if it’s working for you? Where I worry is that there may be people who want to be openly gay but don’t feel able to be.”
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