Czech Republic midfielder Jakub Jankto posted a video on social media on Monday saying he’s homosexual, making him probably the most high-profile male soccer gamers to come back out.
Jankto posted a video on Twitter saying: “I’m gay. And I not need to disguise myself.”
The 27-year-old Jankto is enjoying for Sparta Prague this season on mortgage from Spanish membership Getafe. He has beforehand performed for Italian golf equipment Sampdoria and Udinese and has made 45 appearances for the Czech nationwide workforce, scoring 4 objectives and establishing 13 extra.
“Like everybody else, I need to reside my life with freedom, with out concern, with out violence, with out prejudice, however with love,” Jankto says within the video.
Former Udinese and Sampdoria midfielder Jakub Jankto has come out as homosexual, in what might be a giant turning level for thus many in males’s soccer who really feel the necessity to disguise a giant a part of themselves. 👏💙
Properly performed, Jakub.
— Complete Italian Soccer (@SerieATotal) February 13, 2023
Sparta Prague’s official Twitter account retweeted the video and stated “you’ve gotten our assist.”
“Reside your life, Jakub,” the membership added.
Getafe additionally posted a message on Twitter, saying: “Our utmost respect and unconditional assist to our participant Jakub Jankto.”
The Czech nationwide workforce stated “nothing is altering for us.”
The Premier League responded to Jankto’s video with a remark saying: “We’re with you, Jakub. Soccer is for everybody.”
Jankto has a 3-year-old son, David, together with his accomplice Marketa. Their relationship led to 2021.
Whereas girls’s soccer options many distinguished LGBTQ+ gamers, it’s nonetheless uncommon for skilled male gamers to come back out publicly as homosexual.
Josh Cavallo, who performs for Adelaide United in Australia, grew to become the one overtly homosexual participant in a prime males’s league when he got here out in 2021.
Final 12 months, Jake Daniels of English second-division membership Blackpool grew to become the primary energetic male skilled soccer participant in Britain to publicly say he’s homosexual.