Justin Fashanu: Last News

Lloyd Wilson has said homophobia is still a "chronic problem" in Scottish football - after the leading referee came out as gay at the age of 30.

Rylan Clark has opened up about his past experiences with homophobic bullies, sharing details of an horrific attack. In his new TV show Rylan: Homophobia, Football and Me, BBC Radio 2 DJ and This Morning presenter Rylan explores the treatment of gay people in football, including the tragic story of Justin Fashanu, the UK's first openly gay footballer who sadly took his own life at 37. The show also features Rio Ferdinand, the West Ham and Manchester United legend, who discusses his use of homophobic language.

The life of Justin Fashanu, the first footballer to come out as gay, and his brother John Fashanu, is to be turned into an ITV drama from BAFTA-nominated writer Kwame Kwei-Armah.

Jake Daniels came out as gay.He explained: ‘The big battle for LGBT people in the Church of England has been trying to get for us the equal treatment that the rest of the world is used to.‘We’ve heard the remarkable story of the 17-year-old footballer coming out, the first pro-footballer to do it while still having a career since Justin Fashanu.‘Credit to Jake Daniels, it’s an amazing thing and lots of people have said it’s long overdue that football should have taken so long to welcome its first openly gay player.’Speaking to the PA news agency, the 60-year-old, who is promoting his first novel, Murder Before Evensong, went on: ‘Lots of us who are LGBT are in the Church but the Church at the moment resists giving us equal status which you would expect and enjoy anywhere else.‘That can be frustrating sometimes. I don’t want to pretend it’s just an easy matter, it’s not.

Craig Napier, a Category one official, went public with his announcement in a video that was posted from the Scottish Football Association account.“We need to see the climate change so that people feel they can be their true self and live happily and comfortably in their own skin.”An important conversation with Category One referee Craig Napier. pic.twitter.com/bYygya2k23— Scottish FA (@ScottishFA) June 2, 2022In conversation with Scottish FA, Napier spoke of the importance of sharing this with the world because, “we need to see the climate change so that people do feel that they can be their true self and live happily and comfortably in their own skin.”Napier became the first openly gay figure in Scottish football since late Hearts forward Justin Fashanu in the mid-1990s.“It’s been really inspiring to see what happened recently, with Josh Cavallo and Jake Daniels”, said Napier.

Days after Blackpool FC striker Jake Daniels came out as gay, past historical homophobic tweets of his teammate Marvin Ekpiteta have resurfaced. Ekpiteta, 26, deleted the tweets and apologised to Daniels, who indicated that he has forgiven his teammate. On Monday, 17-year-old Daniels became the first openly gay footballer, since Justin Fashanu in 1990, to come out while still playing. Ekpiteta deleted the tweets and offered his apology.

Elton John has praised Blackpool footballer Jake Daniels after he became the first active player in UK men’s football to come out as gay since 1990.17-year-old Daniels made the announcement yesterday (May 16), telling Sky Sports News that he felt ready to “be myself” after “a long time of lying” about who he is.The Blackpool forward, who said that his “team-mates have all been so supportive about it and everyone has had my back” since he made his decision to publicly come out, is the only openly gay active men’s footballer. Justin Fashanu was the last professional player to do so back in 1990.Daniels has received support from around the world since he made his announcement, with John praising the footballer’s “courageous and game-changing statement”.Congratulations @Jake_Daniels11!A courageous and game-changing statement.

Matt Lucas and Eddie Izzard are among the stars supporting Blackpool forward Jake Daniels, who has become the first pro footballer to come out as gay in 32 years. Daniels, 17, became the first male professional player in English football to come out as gay since Justin Fashanu in 1990 with his incredible statement. Little Britain star Matt wrote on Twitter: ‘It’s a landmark day in British LGBT history.