Secretly gay footballers are arranging ‘fake girlfriends and fake marriages’ – and there are gay couples in Europe’s top leagues – claims Germany’s first player to come out

A retired footballer, who was the first male player to come out as gay in Germany, has claimed that secretly gay players across Europe’s top leagues are arranging ‘fake girlfriends and fake marriages’ in order to hide their sexuality.

Marcus Urban, 54, came out publicly in 2007, some 16 years after he kicked a football for the final time, and is now a spokesperson on LGBTQ+ issues within the sport.

On August 18, Swiss broadcaster Andreas Boni’s book, Mensch Fußballstar, translated to Human Football Star, will be published. German legend Lothar Matthaus and FIFA president Gianni Infantino are among many big names from within the sport who speak about ‘taboo’ topics within the book.

Prior to its release, German media outlet BILD has managed to obtain an extract from Urban, in which he discusses how and why gay footballers continue to hide their sexuality from the public.

He suggests that there are homosexual couples within the Bundesliga, but their own ‘fears’, not the opinions of the media, are stopping them from coming out.

‘It used to be said that the media and fans were to blame for no one coming out,’ Urban said. ‘I think today it’s just the fears of the players and the people around them, at least where we are, in the heart of Europe. 

‘I think almost all the media would support it. I also honestly believe that the fans are no longer the problem. The clubs hardly are either. It’s more about the internal climate these days.

‘And then there are also business ventures within organized gay football. Fake girlfriends are organized, fake marriages are arranged. 

‘At the same time, there are agencies that organize sex encounters. They also make good money from this. But the players’ agents also sometimes organize this for their clients and then have the players in their hands.

‘There are also gay couples in the Bundesliga, and they’re very nice and very pretty. And maybe the day will come when they come out.’

Last year, it was reported that a group of professionals across Germany were set to publicly declare their sexual orientation. Urban, who is the co-founder of Diversero, a global community for diversity, expressed his hope for the plans to come into fruition at the time.

However, they never did, and Urban believes that the players in question were given guidance against revealing their sexuality by advisors close to them.

‘The players are repeatedly thwarted in their desire for freedom,’ he continued. ‘There were some who wanted to come out. For example, we planned a day of coming out on May 17, 2024. In the end, no one dared. 

‘There are still too many people around them who advised them against it. Media lawyers, advisors, family – people who are basking in their money and fame and projecting their misguided pseudo-care and their own fears onto the players.’

There are currently no openly gay footballers in the Premier League. In 2021, Engliash striker Jake Daniels became the first British active male professional to come out in 32 years, after Justin Fashanu did so in 1990.

Daniels currently plays for Blackpool Town.