Gay footballers are 'helping bridge gap' - manager

A football manager who features in a documentary about homophobia in the sport says players coming out as gay are "helping to bridge the gap".

Matt Morton, the manager of non-league Thetford Town FC in Norfolk, came out to his teammates in 2019 and said the response had been "overwhelming positive and emotional".

Since then, the 37-year-old, from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, has supported other players who have followed in his footsteps.

The documentary Rylan: Homophobia, Football and Me explores why homophobia remains a big problem in the game.

Justin Fashanu took his own life in 1998, aged 37

In 1990, the former Norwich City striker, Justin Fashanu, became the first professional footballer to come out publicly as gay.

Only a handful of players have come out since then.

"In the last four or five years since I came out we’ve had five times the amount of players do that as we had in that 30-year period before," Mr Morton said.

"We’re bridging the gap and hopefully that continues, but the important thing is that we can’t rush this and we can’t force people into coming out just for society and the good of the game.

"It has to be for the good of the individual and they have to have the right support, infrastructure and confidence to be able to do that themselves and they shouldn’t be rushed or pushed to do that any earlier than they’re comfortable doing."

Morton played for Thetford Town FC before becoming the first-team manager

Mr Morton blamed homophobia in football on the culture of the sport, misconceptions of sexuality and players and fans trying to get "an edge" on opponents.

A report by the anti-discrimination charity, Kick It Out, showed there were 1,007 reports of discriminatory behaviour against football players, fans and officials in the 2022/23 season, of which 15% were based on sexual orientation.

The charity said discrimination at all levels of the game remained "a serious issue" but that a rise in reported incidents suggested fans were more inclined to report offences.

Rylan: Homophobia, Football and Me was broadcast on TNT Sports 1 and was available to stream on discovery+.