October 9, 2022, 14:01 PM
October 9, 2022, 14:01 PM
“I’m gay,” a Twitter message from former Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who later announced that his account had been hacked, It raised a controversy, since his former teammate Carles Puyol joked about the ad and Joshua Cavallo, the only openly gay footballer, described the mockery as “heartbreaking”.
“Account hacked. Luckily everything is in order. Apologies to all my followers. And of course, more apologies to the LGBT community,” Casillas said this Sunday.
Hours before, the following message appeared in his account: “I hope they respect me: I’m gay.”
His former teammate in the Spanish team Carles Puyol then responded with an ironic message. “It’s time to tell about our relationship Iker,” he wrote, adding emoticons.
These messages provoked a reaction from Cavallo, unique soccer player openly gay who plays in a first division championship, in Australia (A-League).
“Iker Casillas and Carles Puyol make jokes and have fun about the issue of coming out of the closet in football, it’s devastating. It is a difficult step that all people in the LGBTQ+ community must go through. Seeing my role models and legends of this sport have fun about coming out and my community is beyond disrespectful,” Cavallo wrote.
In October 2021 Cavallo, then 21 years old, posted a video on social media. “I am a footballer and I am gay,” he said and received more than seven million views in 24 hours.
Casillas, a former goalkeeper for Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, is a historical figure in Spanish sport. He was the captain who lifted the trophies in the treble Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012.
He is also very popular for his relationship with the journalist Sara Carbonero, whom he kissed live after the world title in South Africa. They have two children and separated in 2021.
In Spain, the third country in the world to authorize gay marriage in 2005, opening up to the LGBT+ community remains a taboo in men’s professional football. No player in the League has come out of the closet.
