Jake Daniels, 17, is the first British male football player to report his homosexuality in more than 30 years. The big clubs shared their support for the young man, but Fifa, who did the same, was pointed out about double standards.
17.5. 14:32 • Updated May 17 14:42
Blackpool, who play in the English Football Championship, released their 17-year-old on Monday Jake Danielsin newsletter (you switch to another service), where this said he was homosexual. The news has been great in the UK, with Daniels being the country’s first publicly active gay male active player since the 1990s and Justin Fashanun.
Daniels played in the final season in Blackpool in his first men’s match. The British striker scored 30 goals for Blackpool’s under-18 team and was carrying the team until the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup. An excellent season also gave Daniels a player contract with the representative team.
– My season has been fantastic on the field. However, I have concealed on the ground what I really am. I’ve known all my life that I’m gay, Daniels explained in the press release.
Daniels was inspired by an Australian Josh Cavallo, one of the only openly homosexual players in the world to play at the top level. Cavallo, 22, who represents Adelaide United in his home country, said he was gay last October.
– I have lied about this for a really long time and have had to process it every day when I can talk about it openly. I was wondering if I would wait until I quit. Now I feel ready to share this and my true self, Daniels said In an interview with Sky Sports (you switch to another service).
– I first told my family and teammates about it. I think the burden I experience is that when I first told my mother and sister, I scored four goals the next day in an under-18 match against Accrington. I was so liberated.
Extensive support from the football community
Daniels’ announcement was immediately praised on social media: European clubs and British media immediately set out to support the young player.
As a football expert, he now works as a former top defender Gary Neville raised a hat for the young man.
– I am incredibly proud of him and the way he talked about it in the interview until I was 17 years old. Coming out of the closet requires a lot of courage and it seemed impossible, for example, a couple of decades ago, Neville told his employer. For Sky Sports (switch to another service).
– I can’t even imagine how difficult it has been to carry inside. This is a great thing for English football and football in general
Several contemporary footballers also immediately expressed their support. English national forward Harry Kane thanked the football community for their positive attitude and support for Daniels.
– A big hat lift for you Jake Daniels and also for how your family, friends, team and its captain have supported you. Football should belong to everyone, Kane wrote on Twitter.
Football associations Uefa and Fifa praised Daniels on Twitter and expressed support for the young top striker. However, the International Football Association collected to your statement of support (you will switch to another service) in response also several gravel sounds.
– Jake shouldn’t even book a hotel room with his partner in the upcoming World Cup host country (Qatar), a US journalist writing about Italian football David Amoyal picked up (go to another service).
Amoyal refers to Swedish, Norwegian and Danish broadcasters (switch to another service). It told how three of Qatar’s 69 competition hotels, which hosted the World Cup in November-December, refused to book a room for a gay couple journalist. Twenty other hotels announced they would book a room for the “couple” if they did not show their sexual orientation in public.
Of the official race hotels, 33 booked a room without conditions. Homosexuality is defined as illegal in Qatar.
Fifa reacted immediately and stated that it had made it clear to all hotels that they were contractually obliged to accept sexual minorities as their customers without conditions.