Poll reveals backing for gay players

Four out of five British football fans would have no problem if an international player from one of the home nations came out as gay or bisexual, a poll has revealed.

Conducted by fan-opinion platform Forza Football and Stonewall, Europe’s leading charity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) equality, the poll asked 50,000 supporters in 38 countries about their attitudes to inclusion and homophobic abuse. Overall, three in four fans said they would be comfortable with a player from their national team coming out, with nearly nine out of 10 fans in Iceland and Ireland expressing this view.

At the other end of the spectrum, though, are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, where only one in 10 fans feels the same way – UAE is one of 72 nations worldwide where same-sex relationships are illegal or in the process of being criminalised.

In Russia, where next year’s World Cup will be hosted, nearly one in two said they would be happy with an LGBT player in the national side.

Stonewall chief executive Ruth Hunt said: “What these results reflect is how much work there is still to do before we can say that we live in a world where lesbian, gay, bi and trans people are accepted without exception.

“We believe the upcoming World Cup is an opportunity to shine a light on what the situation is like for LGBT people in Russia.”