Liverpool’s LGBTQ+ football teams have spoke out over an “ill-timed” tweet from former Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas' account.
A message was posted from the Spanish former footballer's account that read “I hope you respect me, I’m gay.” The tweet prompted a response from his former Spain teammate Carles Puyol, who wrote "it's time to tell our story, Iker." Many considered the content of the post to be sincere and Casillas initially received support on social media. However, the post was later removed from the 41-year-old's feed and he has since shared an apparent explanation.
The former Real Madrid and Porto goalkepper claimed his Twitter account was “hacked”, before going on to voice his support for the LGBTQ+ community. Casillas said: “Hacked account. Luckily everything in order. Apologies to all my followers. And of course, more apologies to the LGBT community."
READ MORE: Footballer 'had to choose' between his sexuality and his love for the game
Puyol has also removed his response to the initial post, with Spanish newspaper AS reporting the pair were being sarcastic following recent gossip regarding Casillas and his links to different women in the press. Puyol then shared the following post on his own account: "I have made a mistake. Sorry for a clumsy joke with no bad intentions and totally out of place. I understand that it may have hurt sensitivities. All my respect and support for the LGTBIQA+ community."
Since the post, the pair have received widespread condemnation on social media. Among those to speak those is Everton’s LGBTQ+ supporters group, Rainbow Toffees. Speaking to the ECHO, the group’s social media coordinator and promoter, Paul Hession, said: “I still remember with sadness, Justin Fashanu and even to this day, homophobia in football still exists, that’s why groups like us exist. When a player comes out as gay this is a massive step towards equality and acceptance. For someone to use coming out as a joke is really a terrible thing to do.”
Before Casillas said his account was hacked, many speculated the reason he deleted his tweet was because of the number of homophobic responses he had received. Paul Hession added: “The amount of homophobic comments just highlights why groups like us need to exist. This is definitely a step backwards for us and it definitely undermines the likes of Jake Daniels' courage in coming out. I just hope this doesn’t deter any other players from doing so.”
Echoing a similar sentiment was Liverpool FC’s LGBTQ+ supporter group Kop Outs. The group's founder, Paul Amann, agreed the tweet was “misjudged, ill-timed and disappointing” before adding: “The backlash to the tweet highlights the barriers faced by any gay professional male players navigating their way.”
The tweet comes a month before the World Cup takes place in Qatar, a country where homosexuality is not only illegal but punishable with a jail sentence of up to seven years. The country can also punish Muslim men with the death penalty for engaging in same-sex activity, however, there has been no record of this to date.
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