Breaking new ground: Openly gay footballer
Anton Hysen hopes his bold admission will ease the burden on others
wanting to do the same
Every day for the past fortnight, Anton Hysen has
received dozens of emails from people telling him he is their hero.
They have come from Chile, Belgium, America and the
UK.
There are requests for interviews, pleas for autographs
and, more than anything else, messages telling him he is an
inspiration. Why? Because Hysen is the only footballer in the world
brave enough to admit he is gay.
Considering no footballer has come out during their career
since Justin Fashanu in 1990, Hysen was going into the unknown when
he took on football’s final taboo.
He told the world he was gay in Swedish football magazine
Offside a fortnight ago. Remarkably, doing so was not a big deal
for the 20-year-old - son of former Liverpool defender Glenn - even
if it grabbed the attention of the rest of the world.
‘I started to think I was gay when I was 18,’ says Hysen,
a midfielder for his dad’s fourth-tier side Utsiktens in
Gothenburg. ‘I had probably known deep down for a lot longer but it
was then that I started to think about it more
seriously.
‘I told my cousin first, who is a lesbian. Then I told my
mother and my dad, and then my uncle because he’s gay too. I
probably went a year between knowing I was gay and telling my
parents. I thought, “I don’t care. If they kick me out, then they
kick me out. What are they going to say?” ’
Proud parents: Anton's father, former Liverpool
defender Glenn, has had no problem adjusting to his son's
sexuality
Hysen chats away enthusiastically, with a bizarre American
twang. We meet at Utsiktens’ clubhouse and he is free with his time
- insisting only that he gets back home in time to watch Liverpool
on television. He seems unfazed by his emergence from relative
anonymity to being one of the most famous people in
Sweden.
‘People say it is horrible living with the secret, but it
wasn’t like that for me. If people said, “Look at that girl, she’s
hot”, I’d just say, “OK”.
‘I haven’t had anything negative so far from my family,
friends or team-mates. We joke around about it all the time. I was
aware that being a gay footballer hadn’t been done often but I
figured that is other people’s problem, not mine. I just want to
play football.
Difficulties: Justin Fashanu was the first footballer
in England to 'come out', but faced real hardship following the
announcement
'If people want to call me things, go ahead. I don’t care.
I’m still going to play football. I have two managers. My dad was,
of course, fine and the other one said that if anybody makes any
comments, to tell him and they will be kicked out the
team.’
There is no hint of bigotry from his team-mates. Hysen’s
only public embarrassment has come from being famous rather than
being gay - his ex-girlfriend circulated a nearly naked picture of
him online.
But he sees it as a tiny price to pay, and is hoping
others - including players in the Barclays Premier League - follow
his example and come out, after Fashanu’s tragic story appeared to
have put people off.
Fashanu came out 21 years ago but struggled to find
sufficient support from his family - including brother and England
striker John - and eventually committed suicide in 1998 after his
career nosedived because of injuries.
‘I know about Justin - tragically,’ he says. ‘My dad had
told me what happened. It’s a tragic story. Who turns their back on
their own brother like that? It’s really sad. What kind of human
being are you if you do that? His story has had a knock-on
effect.
‘The reason no footballer has come out since Justin is
that they are afraid. Of fans’ reactions, that their families and
friends will turn their backs on them. Or they are afraid their
football careers are going to disappear. It might not be easy but
it’s better to be honest with yourself.
‘I’m not in a top division so it might be different, but
I’m still in a team, still playing football. England is the biggest
league in the world and there would be a big pressure to come out
over there.
‘I understand in some ways that somebody wouldn’t come out
but you just have to be strong and have the support from your
family. I hope someone takes that step.’
It would be a huge step, even taking into consideration
the support rugby player Gareth Thomas and cricketer Steven Davies
have had since they came out.
Hysen has yet to see if there will be any fan backlash
when the season starts in Sweden. He has only received one negative
email since the interview was published.
‘There must be players everywhere in the world who are gay
or bisexual. I hope people can learn from this. Some people
obviously think it matters that you’re gay but they just need to
learn to accept it. They need to learn more about it.
‘Being gay is the one taboo left that sport needs to deal
with. I think we’re going in the right direction with Steve Davies
and Gareth Thomas - I just hope more people will do it and we can
have a brighter future.
One of the group: Anton has received overwhelming
support from friends, family and team-mates
‘There is a macho culture. I’ve not seen it yet
but you hear about these people who make comments about the showers
and stuff. Because people think, “Oh, he’s gay - he must like every
guy in the world”. It’s ridiculous.
‘It’s a stupid, judgmental stereotype. We have to teach
people it’s not like that. People shouldn’t care what you do with
your private life. More people have to come out though,
first.’
That might be more likely in this country if Hysen was
playing over here, rather than for his father in the lower leagues
of Sweden.
And that is his ambition, a natural one, since his past
and present are so linked to England. He was born in Liverpool
during his dad’s time at the club and is still an obsessive fan,
bellowing out You’ll Never Walk Alone in tiny clubhouse showers,
emerging with a Liverpool towel and speaking of his admiration for
Steven Gerrard.
Solidarity: England's premier gay football club,
Stonewall FC, pictured here in 2000 after becoming the world
champions of gay football
The dream is to leave his part-time footballer,
part-time construction worker life behind and play full time in
England.
‘I was born with a ball. And supporting Liverpool. I lived
in England when my dad was playing there and we were supposed to
stay, but we moved back to Sweden when I was three.
‘I wish we’d stayed - I don’t like Sweden at all,’ adds
Hysen, who remains single despite his revelation. ‘I’d love to play
in England. I trained with Doncaster Rovers a couple of years ago
and they invited me back. But I was injured and took too long to
recover. Maybe I’ll get back at some point. If a club called me up
and asked to come over, I definitely would.’
A more immediate return could be to take up the invitation
to be the guest of honour at gay football team Stonewall FC’s 20th
anniversary celebrations in London. By the time they reach their
25th year, Hysen is hoping he will be just one of many gay men in
the game.
