The former Manchester and Juventus left-back talks openly about gay footballers and homophobia in the dressing room
During a meeting with the readers of the French newspaper Le Pariesien for the presentation of his autobiography, former footballer Patrice Evra touched the nerve of football: gay players. According to him, at least two gays are present in every team, but they are not allowed to come out of the closet because of the strong football homophobia.
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In football, everything is closed. If as a footballer you say you are gay, you are dead. I remember once a person came and spoke to the team about homosexuality. Some colleagues said that homosexuality was against their religion and that if there was a gay person in the locker room they should be kicked out of the club. I played with many gay colleagues, they talked to me about it. Alone, because they are afraid to open up publicly. There are at least two per team.
In his autobiography, the former footballer also talks about the sexual abuse he suffered when he was 13 years old from a teacher when he was in France. Abuses hidden for years out of fear and shame.
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“I’ve told this story not just for myself, but for anyone in the same situation as I was in when I was raped at 13. I kept it all inside for years until I watched a TV programme about it and burst into tears and confessed everything to my wife. We must always speak out and denounce those who commit these crimes, even if the perpetrators are family members”.