Mueez Ajao
– England and Barcelona defender Lucy Bronze said there is a need for “more education” after Iker Casillas posted on twitter that he was gay, before deleting the tweet and later saying his account was hacked on Sunday.
– Speaking in a news conference ahead of the England game against Czech Republic on Tuesday, Bronze said the reaction on social media shows the need for more education.
– “Hacked account,” former Spain and Real Madrid goalkeeper Casillas said. “Luckily everything in order. Apologies to all my followers. And of course, more apologies to the LGBT community.”
Also Read: Casillas issues apology after ‘I’m gay’ post
– Meanwhile, former Barcelona defender Carles Puyol, who replied to Casillas’ now-deleted tweet saying “it’s time to tell them about us”, issued an apology on Twitter saying he “made a mistake” and it was a “stupid joke.”
– “Obviously at the beginning no one really knew it was a joke,” Bronze said.
– “But I think the reaction that has been had on social media from the beginning of not knowing what it was to then thinking it was a joke, to thinking it was hacked, whatever it was, the reaction just shows that there still needs a lot of education, a lot more openness about these kind of subjects, because that kind of reaction wasn’t normal.”
– “It shows that there is still a lot of education and still a lot of conversations to be had to make the world and social media a better place, and people more comfortable to have open conversations when they are real, or when they’re not.”
– LGBTQ+ sport groups have condemned Casillas’ tweet, saying it was “dispiriting” and “disappointing.”
– Pride in Football criticised the tweet, saying it was “misjudged, ill-timed and disappointing.”
– “That tweet, six words, 32 characters, has the chance to do a lot of damage,” Pride in Football said in a statement on Twitter.
– “We should not be seeing ‘jokes’ at the expense of others in 2022, or ever, period. The homophobic reaction on the back of that tweet is not OK.
– “In November, the World Cup is in a country that persecute people because of their gender identity and sexual orientation. High profile sports stars joking about that exact thing is damaging to people in the community.”
– The Sport Media LGBT+ group denounced the incident and called on allies to speak up.
– “Today’s [Sunday] Twitter episode involving Iker Casillas and Carles Puyol has been hugely dispiriting for LGBTQ+ people and allies,” Sport Media LGBT+ said on Twitter.
– “The flippancy of the tweets and weak backtrack plays into the hands of homophobes.
– “We’ve seen in recent months how famous players can be great allies, using the power of their social media platforms to send supportive messages. As the men’s #FIFAWorldCup approaches, football needs voices of inclusion. We urge them to speak up again.”
– Adelaide United player Josh Cavallo, who came out last October, also criticised Casillas and Puyol for apparently joking about coming out.
– “Joking and making fun out of coming out in football is disappointing,” Cavallo tweeted.
– “It’s a difficult journey that any LGBTQ+ people have to go through. To see my role models and legends of the game make fun out of coming out and my community is beyond disrespectful.
