Amal Fashanu (left) and her famous father, John Fashanu
Amal Fashanu, the daughter of popular former Nigerian football
player, John Fashanu, has claimed that she knows of seven gay
footballers currently playing in the English Premier League.
Amal, who made a name for herself when she starred in BBC Three documentary 'Britain's Gay Footballers' in January 2012, believes homosexual footballers are trapped in a 'dark world' because they are scared to come out.
Homosexuality in top-flight football is a topic close to Amal
Fashanu's heart after her uncle, Justin Fashanu killed himself in 1998
after coming out as gay.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Amal said of gay Premier League footballers: 'I actually know myself of seven. I will never, ever share their details.
'I’m not going to out them because I would never do that. You
want to be honest, even to help them out, but you just can’t do that.
The football world is extremely dark. I don’t even want to imagine being
a footballer, what it must be like.'
Her uncle, Justin Fashanu came out as gay in October 1990 before killing himself in May 1998
And she revealed what she felt like, as a 9-year-old at school,
under the spotlight of both media and public, and fighting for a share
of her father's attention
Amal explained: 'At times I find myself with a really big wall
because you have to protect yourself. At the time my dad was playing for
Aston Villa and on Gladiators, one of the biggest shows on a Saturday
night.
'He used to come and present prizes at sports day. And I used
to try and win them all just so that I could see him for a little while.
I don’t think people realise how much families of footballers actually
suffer.
'My mum would try to protect me. So I wouldn’t find out things.
But nowadays, with the internet, all you need to do is type in your own
name and you can see it. It’s horrible.'
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