It is already rare to hear a pro footballer, or former pro, take a stand against the scourges that plague this environment. But even more lifting the veil on the discussions in the locker room. In an interview this Tuesday at Parisian for the promotion of his book I love this game (Hugo Sport edition), Patrice Evra denounces the lack of concrete actions to fight against racism in his sport but also directly tackles the homophobia plaguing this environment.
Faced with a reader questioning him on the difficulties encountered in “to change the mentalities”, especially concerning homosexuality, the former captain of the France team decides: “In the world of football, it’s simple, everything is closed.” A toxic context that would be faced “At least two players per club who are homosexual”, he also evokes. “Me, I played with players who were homosexual”, traces the one who passed through Monaco, Manchester United (England) or Juventus de Turin (Italy). Some would have confided in him one-on-one, “Because they are afraid to talk about it” more broadly, he continues. And for good reason, according to the retired footballer, 40 years old, “In the world of football, if you say so, it’s over”.
“He must leave the club”
Returning to his experience in England, the former defender of the Blues recalled a scene in particular, during which his team had met “A person to talk about homosexuality”. “Some of my teammates said during this exchange: ” It is against my religion, if there is a homosexual in this locker room, he must leave the club ””, he describes. Homophobic comments to which he says he strongly replied: “Everyone shuts her down. You realize ?”
And the current context seems to prove Evra right. Just this weekend, Josh Cavallo, one of the first pro footballers to come out, was the target of homophobic abuse when his team, Adelaide United (Australia), came to the Melbourne Victory pitch. . In October, the 22-year-old Australian footballer followed in Justin Fashanu’s footsteps in the 90s by openly revealing his homosexuality. Messages of support, including that of Antoine Griezmann, who had already committed to this subject in Têtu in 2019.
But on his social networks, the day after the meeting, Cavallo wrote that“there are no words” to explain his disappointment after being the victim of insults descending from the stands. “I’m not going to pretend I didn’t see or hear the homophobic slurs during the meeting last night,” he denounced. By adding : “This shows that our society is still facing these problems in 2022.”
As noted by the LGBTQI + website Stubborn in an article, one of the solutions that would pave the way for the release of gay players in football would be a “Better psychological support for teams”. Unfortunately, on this point too, Patrice Evra paints a very dark picture, especially for younger footballers: “If you tell the clubs to bring back a shrink, they’ll shut the door on you”, he laments.“The players have no help and that’s the problem”, he concludes.
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