Justin Fashanu: Britain’s first out gay footballer to be inducted into Hall of Fame
Justin Fashanu, Britain’s first and only out gay male professional footballer, is to be posthumously inducted into the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame later this week.
Fashanu will be recognised at a ceremony on Wednesday at the museum in central Manchester.
The award celebrates those who have made an outstanding contribution to the sport and comes 22 years after the former Norwich City and Nottingham Forest striker took his own life.
He died in 1998, eight turbulent years after coming out publicly in a national newspaper.
Fashanu’s niece Amal, who runs The Justin Fashanu Foundation, will receive the award on what would have been her uncle’s 59th birthday.
The Foundation has been set up to highlight the issues of homophobia and other forms of discrimination in both grassroots football and the professional game, while also aiming to raise the participation of LGBT people in football.
Amal told Sky Sports News: „I think he wouldn’t believe it himself. I know he would be extremely honoured, and I know that I am extremely honoured and so is my family.
„I guess for Justin this would be a great moment and I think it’s a pivotal moment when we are finally recognising who Justin Fashanu was, not only as the openly gay footballer, but also as a very talented footballer and the first million-pound black player in England.
„When I went up to the Football Museum in Manchester a few years ago, I was quite shocked to not see Justin there [in the Hall of Fame]. Maybe that’s because I’m his niece and I just think he’s amazing, but as a footballer I would have expected him to be there.“
There are over 100 male players in the English Football Hall of Fame, which was launched in 2002, as well as women, managers, and teams.
Amal, whose father John played for clubs including Aston Villa, Wimbledon and Millwall, feels the game is „slightly late“ to recognise Justin but acknowleges that it is still difficult for players to come out publicly.
She added: „I have gay football friends who play right now who happen to be gay to their friends and family but just not to the rest of the world. It’s their option. I don’t blame them because I do know why, but it’s very sad – we’re in 2020 and I don’t understand why there hasn’t been a footballer yet to come out who is still currently playing, because nothing will change.
„I think it has got easier because we have moved on in life and in general. I think everyone, in other industries, we’re very happy to accept is gay or who is whatever they choose to be, but I guess within football, because it is such a close-knit, dark archaic kind of vibe, it’s very difficult.
„I think today, if a footballer came out it would be definitely not even half as bad as Justin coming out, but I think it would still be hard, it would still be a challenge. But what’s harder, to live pretending to be someone else or to be yourself?“
The reaction of Justin’s family was not as supportive as it could have been when he came out, said Amal, but time – and talking – has helped, with brother John a trustee of The Justin Fashanu Foundation.
The Foundation focuses on awareness and education, with key areas of support in mental health, homophobia and racism in football.
She added: „My Dad definitely regrets that. I’m very pleased to know that he has changed. His mind is in a different place now. I can have conversations like this with him. I can talk to him about it. His understanding is completely different.
„It must have been very hard for him [Dad] because obviously he was trying to protect his family at the time and he was trying to do what he thought was right. But obviously what was right for him actually wasn’t right for Justin, or in general, and I think he regrets it and I think he’s changed.
„With the Foundation, he is now a trustee and he is doing a lot of work to help me.“
Soccer Accumulator Bonus
Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.
This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.
The maximum bonus that you can receive is ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.
If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:
Bet Type Bonus
14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. Soccer Accumulator Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.
If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.
If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.
Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.
In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.
All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.
.
