Joey Barton on gay footballer coming out: ‘I don’t know’
By Sam Rigby
Joey Barton has spoken about his involvement in the Rainbow Laces campaign.
Footballers have teamed up with Stonewall for a second year to raise awareness of homophobia in football, by wearing rainbow coloured laces on their boots.
The 32-year-old QPR player said that he was “not sure at first how well supported” the campaign would be.
The campaign’s tagline ‘Right Behind Gay Footballers’ attracted some criticism last year, but Barton maintains that it was deliberately “tongue-in-cheek” to ensure people “sat up and listened”.
“There are always going to be people who are going to complain – they will say blue is red for the sake of an argument,” he continued. “The key is getting the message out to the public that us lads are supportive of fellow pros and supporters, no matter what their sexual orientation.”
Asked by Metro if he expects a Premier League footballer to come out in the near future, he replied: “I don’t know is the honest answer, but I certainly feel that the campaign has made positive strides so that a player would feel comfortable coming out.
“Providing we can keep moving forward, raising awareness and breaking down old stereotypes, then I think the campaign will have been another success.”
Arsenal footballers have released a new television advert as part of this year’s Rainbow Laces campaign – watch it here.