MAIL ONLINE: A former soccer boss today sparked fury by declaring: ‘There is no place in football for gays.’
Rudi Assauer, who formerly headed up Schalke 04 in Germany's Bundesliga, went on to say: ‘Perhaps they are OK in other sports but not in football.
‘If a player came to me and said he was gay I would say to him: “You have shown courage.” But then I would tell him to find something else to do.
‘That's because those who out themselves always end up busted by it, ridiculed by their fellow players and by people in the stands. We should spare them these witch-hunts.’
His outburst is set to enrage world footballing authorities who are making concerted efforts to rid the game of homophobia.
Asked whether he had ever met a gay footballer during his many years as both player and manager, 65-year-old Assauer replied: ‘No, never.
‘When I was in Bremen, I heard that our masseur was gay. So I went up to him and said: 'Look, son, do me a favour - look for another job.’
Assauer's comments come in a week when homosexuality has been in Germany's spotlight for other reasons.
Guido Westerwelle, the country's openly gay foreign minister, was criticised for taking his lover on an official government trip to South America. >>> Allan Hall | Friday, March 12, 2010
