Former footballer Marcus Urban, known for being the first player in the country to come out as openly homosexual, has claimed that in the top European leagues there are still footballers who resort to “fake girlfriends and fake marriages” to cover up their sexual orientation.
Urban, who currently works as an activist and spokesperson on LGBTQ+ issues in sport, has shared his thoughts in an excerpt published by the German newspaper BILD. The statements are part of the book ‘Mensch Fußballstar‘ (Human, football star), written by Swiss journalist Andreas Boni and due for release on August 18. In the book, figures such as Lothar Matthäus and FIFA president Gianni Infantino take part in conversations about what they consider to be still taboo subjects in soccer.
In his speech, Urban says that despite social progress, the main obstacle for footballers to come out is no longer the media or the fans, but “the fears of the players and the people around them”. “I also sincerely believe that the fans are no longer the problem. The clubs, by and large, are not either. Today it is more about the internal climate,” he says.
The former player describes a network of interests that feeds this silence: “They organise fake girlfriends and fake marriages. At the same time, there are agencies that organise sexual encounters. They also make good money from this. But the players’ representatives sometimes organise these things for their clients and then have the players in their hands.”
Urban recalls that in 2024 a joint event had been planned for several professionals to reveal their orientation on May 17, but the project was thwarted. “Players are frustrated time and again in their desire for freedom. There were some who wanted to come out. In the end, no one dared. There are still too many people around them who advise them not to do it. Media lawyers, advisors, family… people who benefit from their money and fame and who project on the players their misguided pseudo-concern and their own fears.”
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