Josh Cavallo

[Andy1981_2]

No, I totally agree, J. It shouldn't be an issue but I'm sure there'll be gay footballers who would like to live their lives as openly as a straight footballer but feel they can't because of the hassle it would cause. Just like anyone, footballers shouldn't be defined by their sexuality but, until it isn't an issue any more, they will be if they're gay.

I think my point is that, whilst most of us aren't bothered either way if a player is straight or gay, unfortunately there are some for who it's an issue so this lad coming out is a brave move and will hopefully encourage others to say 'aye, me too and so what'.

Ultimately, we're all aiming for 'so what', I guess.

Exactly this, I think. This is where representation is important I guess - that you can look at football players and see yourself amongst that group and think, 'Oh, I guess I can be a football player and X'. Where there's an absence of things it can look to some groups like maybe that culture is unwelcoming for someone who is X. It was that way for gay football players at one point, so it is good if people now feel like they can come out within that sport. I don't know how many more there will be to follow as it's a minority within a minority (people who are good enough to play a sport professionally), so there might not actually be that many high profile players who could become a poster child for this and make it a 'so what'. It might even be that society reaches (if it hasn't already, judging by the responses on here at least) 'so what' before any high profile players actually come out.

[ex_pat_magpie]

A simple summary may be, whatever colour skin you are born with or whatever your se'xual orientation is we all, as human beings bleed red blood.

Who then can claim to be different and for what purpose?

[trinitoon]

Progress is when nobody cares.

But before we get there, brave people have to open themselves up to xenophobic abuse. Makes me sick.

From my point of view, they could be as gay as a ray of sunshine, LGBTQ+ (and the rest of the alphabet), etc. or everything in between I couldn't care less about their sexuality.

I care about their footballing ability. And I'll support them 100% (or slag them off for being rubbish) regardless of this.

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What is harder to accept is the ones that come out very hard with a belief that is more right-wing or right-leaning, xenophobic in some way, overtly or covertly racist, etc. Although the same measure should be applied, that is harder.

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I believe the problem that we would have to face is that- regardless of how independent you believe PIF is - we are effectively a Saudi outfit so being LGBTQ won't be easy for the overlords in our administration to reconcile. And that would not be an easy situation...