Atletico Madrid forward, Antoine Griezmann, has said gay footballers are afraid to come out, because of what people will say.
The likes of Tom Daley, Nicola Adams, Gareth Thomas and Keegan Hirst have all felt comfortable enough to come out in recent years.
However, there are currently no openly gay footballers in Europe’s major leagues.
“Players do not come out of the closet because they are afraid,” Griezmann told El Pais.
“We have to appear hard and strong but we are afraid of what people will say about us.
“Of course, I have nothing against anyone, I respect everybody.”
When asked if he himself would come out if he was gay, the Atletico forward replied: “I think I would but of course that’s easier said when you do not have to go through it.
“There are a lot of bad people in football and players can be afraid to go to stadiums and get abused.”
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