Europe’s first openly-gay footballer claims that if a Premier League player came out as homosexual, it would be huge for the game globally.
But Anton Hysen says that such a brave move MUST be supported by football bosses and authorities.
Anton knows the English game inside out.
The 25-year-old was born on Merseyside, lived in Southport... and his dad Glenn is a former Liverpool captain, who helped the Reds to their last title triumph under Kenny Dalglish in 1990.
And full-back Anton broke one of football’s longest-lasting taboos by coming out as gay in an interview with Swedish football magazine Offside in March 2011.
He won widespread praise for doing so and he has received very little abuse from either the terraces or opponents since.
That flies in the face of FA chairman Greg Clarke’s view that gay English footballers would be “taking a risk” if they followed Hysen’s inspirational lead.
“If no one has done it, how do you know England isn’t ready for it?” he said, in an accent more Scouse than Swedish.
“If no one does it, you can’t speculate. Just because you see all the negative comments, you don’t know what’s going to happen.
“It’s insulting to supporters in England to suggest that they’re not ready to support a gay footballer. The players who are there to play football will support whoever it is that steps forward. When I came out, I was excited. I was like, ‘Yes, now I’m going to see who’s real and who’s not real’.
“I couldn’t give a s*** about the people who thought less of me.
“I maybe got one or two bits of abuse from supporters or players I was up against.
“To be honest, any abuse I did get said far more about the people that said it than me. It just illustrated how uneducated they were to have such bigoted views.”
Last weekend, top-flight players wore rainbow laces as part of Stonewall’s Premier League-backed campaign to tackle homophobia in football. Even the Wembley Arch was lit up in support.
But, despite the positive steps English football has taken, the fact is that no gay player has felt confident enough to come out in the manner of Hysen or former Aston Villa favourite Thomas Hitzlsperger.
And until that happens, Hysen believes the English game will not take the ultimate step forward.
Hysen added: “We had Justin Fashanu a long time ago, but I feel we’ve become a lot more progressive since then.
“Football has completely changed, but so has society. It’s the same in Sweden.
“As recently as the 1970s, homosexuality was considered a disease – it’s not that long ago that gay people didn’t even feel safe on the streets here.
“But things are looking better and the environment is right for a footballer to come out.
“Yes, you need support around you. But the player, or players – because I know there’s more than one in the Premier League – need to be strong.
“I’m so proud of what I’ve done and everything has been so much better after I decided to come out.
“If a Premier League player did come out, it would be huge for football – not just in England, but across the world.”
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