Former German footballer Marcus Urban has claimed that some gay players in Europe are resorting to fake girlfriends and sham marriages to hide their sexuality. Urban, who played for Rot-Weiss Erfurt and represented East Germany's youth team, made the allegations ahead of the release of his new book, 'Mensch Fussballstar'.
Urban came out to his loved ones years after retiring in 1991 and went public with his sexuality in 2007. In excerpts published by German tabloid Bild, he said: 'Yes, I was the first gay footballer in Germany to come out at the time. When Thomas Hitzlsperger came out, it was thought that it could be a turning point. But it wasn't really right.'
He added: 'Many gay footballers have organised themselves in the background in the meantime. In groups of between 20 and 40 people. But it is only the tip of the iceberg. Many are lone wolves, do their own thing and we don't even know about many of them yet.'
Urban explained that fear still often beats courage, stemming from the potential loss of job and reputation. He stated: 'The people around the players who tell them they shouldn't come out, they shouldn't live freely so that they can continue to make money.'
He also revealed that within organised gay footballer networks, 'fake girlfriends are organised, sham marriages are arranged' and that agencies set up sex meetings, earning money from the arrangements. Urban noted that players' advisors sometimes organise this for their clients, keeping them under control.
