Scotland: two referees turned out to be homosexual and aim to “change the culture of football”

Slowly there are more players who dare to talk about homosexuality in football and try to eradicate homophobia on the pitch. Although there are few cases of gay soccer players, this is gradually changing and there are more people who dare to make it visible. Now two Scottish referees have given their testimony so that many others can feel comfortable with their sexual choice.

Although there is a strong demand in making the news that a sports character talks about being homosexual, taking into account that it is a topic that has been silenced for many years, the search is to be able to naturalize it and that it is no longer taboo. long.

Days ago Jake Daniels, a 17-year-old footballer from Blackpool in the English Second Division, decided to say he was gay. When he bore his testimony about him, he wanted, like Lloyd Wilson and Craip Napier, to ask that the subject stop being an inconvenience or something to hide.

This time the Scottish Federation published the testimony of its two referees and through a video posted on social media they talked about the case of Daniels and Josh Cavallo: “It’s something I never thought I’d sit here and do. really inspiring to see what happened recently. They announced their sexuality and I think there are a lot of people who should be inspired by that. “

Although they were able to testify comfortably, they said it wasn’t easy to get there, with Napier saying, “It’s something I’ve lived with for a long time. It’s been a tough journey to get to this point. It is really important that people like me are willing to sit here and do this “.

“I think it’s really important that people like me are willing to sit here and do this. I don’t think this should be new, but I think right now it’s really because we need to see change so that people feel like they can be themselves and live happily and comfortably in their own skin. And then this must transcend football. “ He added.

Although there is a change that is evident and that value judgments are slowly disappearing, football is still a space that has many levels in which it needs to evolve. In this sense, Naiper expressed: “There is something in football, there is still that barrier. This is not a conversation about me, this is a conversation about trying to change Scottish football culture.”

The statements of Jake Daniels

“I have just worked out and elaborated for days how I want to do it and when and I feel that now is the right time. I am ready to tell people my story”, began the young man talking to Sky Sport. Likewise, he continued: “I want people to know the real me and lying all the time is not what I wanted to do. “

“It’s been a fight, but now I feel ready to be myself. It’s been a pretty crazy year. I’m 17. I signed a professional contract, I scored 30 goals and I just made my first team debut. And now I have decided to declare myself gay, ”added Daniels, who has received the full support of his club and his colleagues as well.

The Blackpool striker, in turn, revealed that it is a moment of strong emotions for him: “It happened all at once, but I feel good. When I started the season I just wanted to prove myself as a player and I think I ‘I was fine.So this was the last thing I knew I had to do. Now it’s out, people know it and I can live my life however I want. It’s incredible”.

Finally, in relation to his childhood, the English player claimed to have been clear about his sexual orientation since the age of five or six. “I had girls to try to make all my peers believe I was straight, but it was just a cover-up, so it was a struggle. “he concluded.