Barcelona FC offer support to gay referee who received death threats
Catalonian football club Barcelona has invited Spain’s first openly gay referee to its stadium after he was subjected to homophobic abuse.
Jesus Tomillero was forced to quit in May after being inundated with homophobic abuse. He decided to return saying he wouldn’t be put off by bigots but got death threats after awarding a penalty.
Barcelona has now confirmed it wants to stand with the 21-year-old and set and example for LGBT fans.
As well as inviting Tomillero to Neu Camp to watch a game, the team plans to organise a number of events to stand against anti-LGBT discrimination in football.
The side has said it hopes it can contribute to the crackdown of prejudices in the sport.
According to research conducted by Stonewall, in the UK almost three-quarters of people have heard anti-LGBT abuse at a football match in the last five years.
Earlier this year, Burnley striker Andre Gray was suspended from the Premier League after historic homophobic tweets were discovered on his account.
Although he professed to be a changed man, the league still banned him for four matches.
