‘I hope you respect me: I’m gay’ – The controversy behind Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas’s tweet – DailyO

On Sunday (October 9), former Spanish goalkeeper and Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas posted a tweet in Spanish saying that he is gay. However, the tweet was deleted around 30 minutes later with the footballer claiming that his account was hacked. 

Puyol joins the drama: While the tweet was a major shocker for the football world and Casillas’s 10 million Twitter followers, another highlight from the unexpected announcement was former Barcelona captain Carles Puyol commenting, “It’s time to tell our story, Iker” followed by a few kissing emojis. 

Since then, Puyol’s tweet has been criticised for mocking the LGBTQ+ community, especially by gay footballers. 

Apologies from Casillas and Puyol: Apologising for the confusion created by the tweet, Casillas took to his Twitter account to write, “Hacked account. ‘Luckily everything in order. Apologies to all my followers. And of course, more apologies to the LGBT community.”

Puyol, who was also scrutinised for joking about the whole matter, also deleted his tweet with his response being, “I was mistaken. Sorry for a clumsy joke without any bad intentions but absolutely out of place. I understand that it could have hurt feelings. All my respect and support for the LGBTQ+ community.”

So, is Casillas gay or not? As of now, Casillas has confirmed that he’s not gay and the message was just the result of a hacking activity that is still being investigated. 

While his current romantic whereabouts are unknown, he announced his decision last year to separate with sports journalist Sara Carbonero after five years of marriage. 

How are gay footballers responding? Australian footballer and Adelaide United FC member Josh Cavallo who had come out last year, took to Twitter to explain his displeasure towards the exchange between Casillas and Puyol. 

“Joking and making fun out of coming out in football is disappointing. To see my role models and legends of the game make fun out of coming out and my community is beyond disrespectful” Cavallo’s statement reads. 

Another gay footballer, Netherlands’ women’s national team playerm Merel van Dongen, also tweeted: “I hope you respect me: I’m sick of homophobia. #YouCanCountOnMe”

A brief history of “coming out’’ and homophobia in the sport: In 1990, Justin Fashanu became the first pro-footballer to come out publicly as gay after an exclusive interview with The Sun. Fashanu’s own brother John Fashanu and manager dismissed his identity a week later, with the former publicly distancing himself and calling him an “outcast” while the latter referring to his client as a “bloody poof”. 

The trends in pro-footballers coming out of the closet mostly include players announcing their sexual identity only after retiring, doing so to avoid any homophobia during their career. Some examples include former German midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger and former French player and coach Olivier Rouyer. 

Irish women’s football captain Katie McCabe and Scottish footballer Ruesha Littlejohn announced that they were in a relationship back in 2019 with McCabe describing women’s football as very accepting with regards to gay footballers. 

However, there have been extreme cases that have resulted in abuse and death. In 2008, while the entire world celebrated the World Cup happening in South Africa, the country’s midfielder and LGBTQIA+ activist Eudy Simelane was raped and murdered for her sexual orientation. Two of the suspects behind the hate crime received prison sentences while the other two were acquitted. 

Much like other sports, gay representation in football continues to be extremely scarce. According to research by BBC Sport’s Alex Howell in June 2022, it was revealed that homophobia accounted for 40% of abuse among male footballers and 27% among female players. 

Still, things seem to be looking slightly better than before. Cavallo’s coming out was celebrated as a major moment for LGBTQIA+ fans of the game.

As for Casillas’s own country, Spanish referee Jesús Tomillero came out as gay this March only to receive homophobic attacks and violent threats following which he received police protection. Apart from refereeing, Tomillero has also founded Roja Directa, an organisation to fight homophobia in football and other sports.