Gay footballers could come out together, says FA chairman Greg Clarke

Greg Clarke has suggested the idea of gay footballers coming out collectively as the Football Association seeks to break one of the sport's last taboos.

The FA chairman also revealed he had held discussions with a number of top-level gay footballers about the possibility of them coming out, but stressed the final decision would always be left with the player. 

"I put the message out there that if a number of top-level pros want to come out, why don't we synchronise it? So one person doesn't have to come out on their own," he told The Times. 

"The Premier League, Football League and the FA could do it at the start of the season. At the start of the season, the crowds are happy, the sun is shining.

"I was asked [recently] if football is ready for top-level pros to come out and I said I'm not sure we were.

"There was a survey which said people would support gay people in their own team, but I'm worried about what they said about gay people in the other team, not that they would do bad things, but I said we should prepare well. 

Is English football ready for a gay star?

Sky Sports News HQ reporter Geraint Hughes explores whether English football is ready for a gay star

"I've been asking the gay community, 'How can we provide more support and orchestrate it so people get the right level of support if people want to be open about their sexuality?

"I've met 15 gay sports people in the last four weeks to ask their views, including footballers. It is very difficult to get a representative set of gay top-level footballers because some of them are happy with their sexuality and just don't want anyone to know. 

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

"I don't want to be part of a process that says, 'You've got to come out'. That's not right. People are cautious."

No active Premier League footballer has ever come out and it has been 27 years since former Norwich City forward Justin Fashanu revealed he was gay. 

Former Aston Villa and West Ham midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger waited until his retirement in 2014 to disclose he was gay, while former United States international Robbie Rogers came out in 2013 having left Leeds United.