Manchester United player denies he is gay amid newspaper claims
Defender Luke Shaw has denied that he is gay on Twitter.
The Manchester United player has distanced himself from claims in a national newspaper this that two major footballers are ready to come out as gay.
The 20-year-old player – currently injured with a serious leg injury – responded to the claims on Twitter.
“Its not me,” he wrote. “So everyone can shut up now!”
The Mirror made claims yesterday that two Premier League footballer players – one an England international – are to come out as gay.
Shaw, though, has rejected suggestions that it is him.
If the players do eventually reveal themselves, then this could mark a landmark moment in British football history – as they will become the openly homosexual footballers in the Premier League era.
A source said: “The stigma has completely gone, and the public are far more accepting.
“At this level of football, being gay is almost the final frontier.”
“It has always been such a macho game and, unfortunately, perhaps more than in any other sport, there can be an aggressive mob mentality in the stands,” the source said.
“But finally the tide is turning and more and more sports people are openly gay.”
The two players are reported to have told family and friends, and are being supported by their clubs and the Football Association.
Last year, retired former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger made headlines around the world, after he revealed he is gay to a German newspaper.
However, he said that it would never have been possible if he was still playing the sport.
“For me it would have been almost impossible had I still been playing – not because of the fans or the other players, but because of the media.
“In an ideal world it shouldn’t (matter) but we’re in 2014 and we’re still talking about it.”
Justin Fashanu was the first professional footballer in Britain to come out, in 1990, before he took his own life eight years later, aged 37.
