You’d have to be very brave to come out as a footballer
LOUIS VAN GAAL has made the astonishing claim that there are only a few gay players in football.
The former Manchester United boss insisted in an interview with Dutch LGBT newspaper Gaykrant the game “is not a mirror of society”.
Van Gaal, 68, who retired a year ago after a glittering coaching career that also saw him work in Holland, Spain and Germany, admitted he had his suspicions that certain players he managed were homosexual.
But he says that sexuality remains such a taboo subject inside dressing rooms that he would never advise a player to come out.
Asked if there are any gay players in the professional game, Van Gaal said: “Yes, but not many. The football world is not a mirror of society.”
Van Gaal’s words will not help the campaign to bring more LGBT diversity to football.
Six years ago, he took part in the famous canal parade that is a highlight of the annual Amsterdam Gay Pride event.
But the Dutchman revealed that footballers are still under intolerable pressure when it comes to being open about their sexuality.
And he hinted he would be reluctant to advise a player to come out.
Van Gaal said: “You need to be incredibly brave and have a lot of strength if you want to come out.
“Because the football world and today’s angry society seem to deal with a different sexual choice.
“It’s better for your own personality to stay close to your feelings. But when you do come out, the pressure for a gay footballer will be massive.
“It would cause so much of a stir. You need to take so many hurdles. Can you handle that and will you feel OK with that?
“In my whole career, not a single player has ever told me that he is gay. Really, not one! That says enough.
“A homosexual footballer is always afraid of the consequences of coming out. I think that if it would stay in the changing room, a player would be willing to share that he is gay. We all pretend to believe that we all have the same rights.
“But you guys (gay people) don’t have that. I do regret that. A huge part of my nation’s still very conservative.”
Van Gaal added: “I did often think players were gay. I had my suspicions with certain players. I won’t say at which club, but I worked with players who I thought were gay.
“I want to protect those players. The majority are marrie d to women and have kids. I can’t do that to them.
“I used to ask (players) if they had a girlfriend. Only later I decided to ask if they have a partner.
“I noticed in my career that it’s the more creative players who are gay.
“And those kinds of players are more valuable in football. In other words, they are loved because of their football skills.
“I could be wrong in all this, but not very often am I wrong in my life.”