Two Premier League players are preparing to come out as gay
- which would make them the first British footballers to make
the announcement while still playing at the top levels of the
game.
One of the men is believed to be an England international star
and both have already told their families and friends and have
the full support of their respective clubs and the Football
Association.
The Daily Mirror reports the men will come out publicly before
the start of the next season.
A source told the newspaper: 'The stigma has completely
gone and the public are far more accepting.
'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.
'But finally the tide is turning and more and more sports
people are openly gay.'
The paper also reports that another famous player came out
to friends in 2011 - but shortly afterwards a homophobic slur
was painted on his car.
Nottingham Forest and Norwich City striker Justin Fashanu
remains the highest profile star to reveal he was gay, but he
suffered years of abuse and eventually killed himself in 1998
aged 37.
More recently the captain of England women's team, Casey
Stoney, announced she was gay, shortly after former Germany
and Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger came out.
Arsenal defender Ms Stoney said she has never hidden her
sexuality in football circles because it is 'accepted'.
She told BBC Sport: 'I feel it's really important for me to speak
out as a gay player because there are so many young people
struggling with being gay.
'You hear about people taking their own lives because they're
homosexual, now that should never happen. They should
never feel those pressures.
'How can I expect other people to come out and speak about
themselves if I'm not willing to do that myself?'
German football star Hitzlsperger said diver Tom Daley's
acknowledgement that he was in a same-sex relationship
helped him to come out as gay.
The German international midfielder became the first Premier
League star to reveal he was homosexual, saying that he had
recently accepted that he 'preferred men'.