West Ham star believes football is ready for gay players

Friday, January 4, 2013
10:00 AM

West Ham United winger Matt Jarvis has become the third footballer to to feature on the front of the UK’s leading gay magazine, saying he believes the sport is more than ready to welcome any stars wanting to come out.

The married 26-year-old features on the front of February’s Attitude, following on from David Beckham and Freddie Ljungberg who both appeared in the previous decade.

Jarvis believes there would be no issue should any footballers decide to come out.

“It’s everyday life,” he said. “It’s not something that’s going to be a shock.

“I’m sure there are many footballers who are gay, but when they decide to actually come out and say it, it is a different story. It’s one that I’m sure they’ve thought about many times. But it’s a hard thing for them to do.”

Jarvis feels the mechanisms are in place to help out any player who chose to take what would be a pioneering step.

“There’d be support everywhere within the football community, whether it be players, fans or within the PFA [Professional Footballers’ Association],” he said. “There would definitely be groups of people who would be supportive and help them through it.”

No professional footballer has come out publicly in Britain since Justin Fashanu in 1990.