Czech international Jakub Jankto has paid tribute to Sparta Prague fans who loudly cheered him when he made his first appearance since coming out as gay.
Jankto became the first active men's player to be a current member of an international team when he released a video last Monday. He was immediately flooded by supportive messages from across the footballing world.
There have previously been concerns about the reaction of supporters to an openly gay player, but Sparta fans appear to have eased those worries. Jankto has spent several weeks out injured, but was fit enough to come on as a substitute against Jablonec on Sunday.
He came on with 20 minutes and with Sparta leading the relegation candiates 2-0. As he stepped onto the pitch to replace Jan Kuchta, the crowd at the eepet Arena could be heard loudly cheering.
He had an immediate impact, running with the ball from midfield to help create Sparta's win-sealing third goal. And Jankto has now taken to social media to thank fans for their loud support.
"For me, the strongest moment in my career. A minute I will never forget. 3 points, great atmosphere. Thank you to all the people at the stadium! We keep pushing," the midfielder wrote on Twitter.
When he came out last week, the 27-year-old insisted he wanted to be a positive role model for other LGBT+ people in football who may be scared of being their true selves.
"Like everybody else, I have my strengths, I have my weaknesses. I have a family, I have my friends. I have a job, which I have been doing as best as I can for years, with seriousness, professionalism, and passion," he said.
"Like everybody else, I also want to live my life in freedom, without fears, without prejudice, without violence, but with love. I'm homosexual and I no longer want to hide myself. This is not entertainment. The purpose of this video is to encourage others."
Heading into the game against Jablonec, Sparta boss Brian Priske insisted he was confident that Jankto would get a good reception from his team's fans. He also revealed that he had encouraged Jankto to "live his life" after the Czech international came out to him privately.
"What you're asking also crossed my mind, but I'm trying to think positively. We have a lot of great fans and I want to focus on those who support us rather than anything negative happening," Priske told Blesk.
"I want Jakub and I to focus all our attention on Sunday's match with Jablonec. There are enough good people in the club who will know how to behave if something negative should happen.
"As a person, I felt pleased and proud that Jakub saw in me a person he could confide in. That he knows he is in a safe environment. I don't want to go into details, but I told him to live his life. Let him live it the way he feels."
