Former Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas has apologized to the LGBT community, claiming his official Twitter account had been hacked after a post earlier on Sunday wrote: “I hope you respect me – I’m gay.”
The message quickly gained traction on social media, garnering more than 100,000 likes before it was deleted.
Among the thousands of responses was one from Casillas’ ex-Spain teammate and Barcelona defender Carles Puyol’s well-documented account: “It’s time to tell our story, Iker.”
Casillas, who played more than 500 games for Real Madrid and led Spain to their first World Cup title in 2010, explained: “The account is hacked. Fortunately it’s all in order. I apologize to all my followers. And of course, more apologies to the gay community.”
Puyol later apologized for what he called a “dirty joke”, but the tweets were met with widespread criticism.
Adelaide United midfielder Josh Cavallo, who in October 2021 declared himself gay and became the only active professional footballer in one of the world’s biggest leagues to do so, described the messages as “disrespectful”.
The 22-year-old Australian posted a tweet before Casillas’ tweet claiming he was hacked, writing: “IkerCasillas and @Carles5puyol are joking and making fun of going out at football is disappointing.
“It is a tough journey that any LGBTQ+ person must go through. Seeing my role models and game legends make fun of my appearance and my community is disrespectful.”
Blackpool forward Jake Daniels co-stars with Cavallo, who in May became the first current UK player to come out as gay since Justin Fashanu in 1990.
In a statement issued to the PA News Agency, equality advocates Stonewall UK said: “It is disappointing to see anti-gay ‘jokes’ being made to the detriment of LGBTQ+ players and fans.
“Whatever their intention is, our words matter. At Stonewall, we will continue to fight for a better world where members of the LGBTQ+ community can play the sports we love as much as we do.”
The 41-year-old Casillas left Real Madrid to join Porto in 2015. He suffered a minor heart attack in 2019 and announced his retirement from professional football in August of the following year.
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