Something special for the fans

 

Here is something special today for the Anton Hysen fans.

Let us know what you think.

Go check out this blog

Here is a very funny blog to go check out of a guy called Christian Stenevinge.

This guy has some really funny comments/posts sometimes.......

Like his experience at the Eurovision song contest one year: involving him, another person, a jacket and lots of tv cameras....;-)

Very funny reading indeed...

For those who don't understand or cant read Swedish (no worries): there is an English Translation button at the top of the page.

Tackling the ultimate taboo: It's time for a Premier League player to come out, says gay Swedish footballer

By Alex Kay

Every day for the past fortnight, Anton Hysen has received dozens of emails from people telling him he is their hero. They have come from Chile, Belgium, America and the UK. 


There are requests for interviews, pleas for autographs and, more than anything else, messages telling him he is an inspiration. Why? Because Hysen is the only footballer in the world brave enough to admit he is gay.


Considering no footballer has come out during their career since Justin Fashanu in 1990, Hysen was going into the unknown when he took on football’s final taboo. 

Breaking new ground: Openly gay footballer Anton Hysen hopes his bold admission will ease the burden on others wanting to do the same

He told the world he was gay in Swedish football magazine Offside a fortnight ago. Remarkably, doing so was not a big deal for the 20-year-old - son of former Liverpool defender Glenn - even if it grabbed the attention of the rest of the world.


‘I started to think I was gay when I was 18,’ says Hysen, a midfielder for his dad’s fourth-tier side Utsiktens in Gothenburg. ‘I had probably known deep down for a lot longer but it was then that I started to think about it more seriously. 


‘I told my cousin first, who is a lesbian. Then I told my mother and my dad, and then my uncle because he’s gay too. I probably went a year between knowing I was gay and telling my parents. I thought, “I don’t care. If they kick me out, then they kick me out. What are they going to say?” ’

Proud parents: Anton's father, former Liverpool defender Glenn, has had no problem adjusting to his son's sexuality

Hysen chats away enthusiastically, with a bizarre American twang. We meet at Utsiktens’ clubhouse and he is free with his time - insisting only that he gets back home in time to watch Liverpool on television. He seems unfazed by his emergence from relative anonymity to being one of the most famous people in Sweden.


‘People say it is horrible living with the secret, but it wasn’t like that for me. If people said, “Look at that girl, she’s hot”, I’d just say, “OK”. 


‘I haven’t had anything negative so far from my family, friends or team-mates. We joke around about it all the time. I was aware that being a gay footballer hadn’t been done often but I figured that is other people’s problem, not mine. I just want to play football.

Difficulties: Justin Fashanu was the first footballer in England to 'come out', but faced real hardship following the announcement

'If people want to call me things, go ahead. I don’t care. I’m still going to play football. I have two managers. My dad was, of course, fine and the other one said that if anybody makes any comments, to tell him and they will be kicked out the team.’


There is no hint of bigotry from his team-mates. Hysen’s only public embarrassment has come from being famous rather than being gay - his ex-girlfriend circulated a nearly naked picture of him online. 


But he sees it as a tiny price to pay, and is hoping others - including players in the Barclays Premier League - follow his example and come out, after Fashanu’s tragic story appeared to have put people off. 


Fashanu came out 21 years ago but struggled to find sufficient support from his family - including brother and England striker John - and eventually committed suicide in 1998 after his career nosedived because of injuries.


‘I know about Justin - tragically,’ he says. ‘My dad had told me what happened. It’s a tragic story. Who turns their back on their own brother like that? It’s really sad. What kind of human being are you if you do that? His story has had a knock-on effect.
‘The reason no footballer has come out since Justin is that they are afraid. Of fans’ reactions, that their families and friends will turn their backs on them. Or they are afraid their football careers are going to disappear. It might not be easy but it’s better to be honest with yourself. 


‘I’m not in a top division so it might be different, but I’m still in a team, still playing football. England is the biggest league in the world and there would be a big pressure to come out over there. 


‘I understand in some ways that somebody wouldn’t come out but you just have to be strong and have the support from your family. I hope someone takes that step.’
It would be a huge step, even taking into consideration the support rugby player Gareth Thomas and cricketer Steven Davies have had since they came out. 


Hysen has yet to see if there will be any fan backlash when the season starts in Sweden. He has only received one negative email since the interview was published.


‘There must be players everywhere in the world who are gay or bisexual. I hope people can learn from this. Some people obviously think it matters that you’re gay but they just need to learn to accept it. They need to learn more about it.


‘Being gay is the one taboo left that sport needs to deal with. I think we’re going in the right direction with Steve Davies and Gareth Thomas - I just hope more people will do it and we can have a brighter future.

One of the group: Anton has received overwhelming support from friends, family and team-mates

‘There is a macho culture. I’ve not seen it yet but you hear about these people who make comments about the showers and stuff. Because people think, “Oh, he’s gay - he must like every guy in the world”. It’s ridiculous. 
\
‘It’s a stupid, judgmental stereotype. We have to teach people it’s not like that. People shouldn’t care what you do with your private life. More people have to come out though, first.’ 


That might be more likely in this country if Hysen was playing over here, rather than for his father in the lower leagues of Sweden. 


And that is his ambition, a natural one, since his past and present are so linked to England. He was born in Liverpool during his dad’s time at the club and is still an obsessive fan, bellowing out You’ll Never Walk Alone in tiny clubhouse showers, emerging with a Liverpool towel and speaking of his admiration for Steven Gerrard. 

Solidarity: England's premier gay football club, Stonewall FC, pictured here in 2000 after becoming the world champions of gay football

The dream is to leave his part-time footballer, part-time construction worker life behind and play full time in England. 


‘I was born with a ball. And supporting Liverpool. I lived in England when my dad was playing there and we were supposed to stay, but we moved back to Sweden when I was three. 


‘I wish we’d stayed - I don’t like Sweden at all,’ adds Hysen, who remains single despite his revelation. ‘I’d love to play in England. I trained with Doncaster Rovers a couple of years ago and they invited me back. But I was injured and took too long to recover. Maybe I’ll get back at some point. If a club called me up and asked to come over, I definitely would.’ 


A more immediate return could be to take up the invitation to be the guest of honour at gay football team Stonewall FC’s 20th anniversary celebrations in London. By the time they reach their 25th year, Hysen is hoping he will be just one of many gay men in the game.

Anton updates

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Gay Footballer Debate

Anton Hysen & The Gay Footballer Debate

Posted by The 12th Man - March 2011

 

"A while back, I wrote an article about football and homosexuality. Unbeknown to me, an obscure player I blogged about player would announce he was gay via Offside Magazine. His name is Anton Hysen. Before this, he was best known for being a part of what I called the Hysen Dynasty. Now, he is making headlines all his own.

It wasn't too long ago when football's first gay player came out to the world. Unlike Anton, top English footballer Justin Fashnu waited until he retired before admitting he was gay. Fashnu received harsh criticism from those within the football community; and when he came out, he endured even worse treatment by the general public. No player has dared to admit they were gay since fearing the same repercussions. While many argued, there are no gay players. Those close to Fashnu revealed upon his death that Fashnu knew of 12 other footballers who were gay or bisexual. Despite this, not one has come out or been outed.

Now, Anton Hysen is the trail blazer by becoming the first openly gay footballer to be active in the game. While times have changed since Fashnu, there are still skeptics and haters in football. It's not the managers and teammates that are the problem. It's the fans. In a recent British study, more than 70% of English football fans have heard homosexual slurs. The same study suggests that 63% of fans believe homosexual slurs are used because there are no openly gay players. Among those same people, 98% of them believe there are gay players in the league. Catch-22 anyone?

Now, there is a gay player but I doubt those slurs will stop. Anton Hysen might not receive as much harassment as he plays in Sweden's Division 2 Utsiktens BK. While he started his career with top tier Backen FC and represented Sweden at the under-17 level, many might think his sexuality has hindered his career. Although the 20 year-old dreams of someday playing in the Allsvenkan, he understands that might not happen due to his sexuality. According to Anton Hysen, "There are many people who can't handle homosexuals. And there are racists who can't handle immigrants. It may happen that a club shows interest and then the trainer finds out that I am gay. But that is their problem, not mine.”

Football's relationship with the gay community is complicated at best. Just because there is a gay player doesn't mean things will change over night. Even, Anton's own father and Liverpool ace had a scuffle with a gay man in a Frankfurt airport in 2001. Six years later, Glenn hosted a gay pride parade in his native Sweden. While football's poster boys David Beckham and Freddie Ljungberg revel in their gay icon status, others aren't as comfortable like Arek Onyszko and former Schalke boss Rudi Assauer. However, with the advent of the metrosexual player, more people are accepting gay fans and possibly gay teammates. As the old football dinosaurs die off and retire, football will make room for more politically correct managers, trainers, staff, and players. Until then, we must wait for others to follow in Anton Hysen's footsteps."

Young Footballer comes out

Originally posted: 9 March 2011

It’s been two and a half weeks to the day since the second annual Football v Homophobia Initiative, which also fell on what would have been soccer player Justin Fashanu’s 50th birthday. Fashanu came out as gay to the press in 1990, a move that effectively ended his career. Eight years later, Justin Fashanu hung himself in a garage in Shoreditch, London.

In the decade plus since, anti-homophobia advocates like The Justin Campaign have been working to end homophobia in the world’s beautiful game. While some recent gains have been made – notably, gaining the official support of both the FA and UEFA – the movement has suffered from the prolonged absence of successful, out gay footballers at the professional level. As loved as Fashanu is, his story has a miserable ending.

In February 2007, pro basketballer John Amaechi came out. In December 2009, Gareth Thomas, a professional rugby player, came out. And even more recently, straight professional wrestler Hudson Taylor founded Athlete Ally, “a sports resource encouraging all individuals involved in sports to respect every member of their communities, regardless of perceived or actual sexual-orientation or gender identity or expression, and to lead others in doing the same.”

But still, Fashanu was the only professional footballer to come out as gay – until now.

Swedish professional football player Anton Hysén has publicly come out to the soccer magazine Offside, which is due out on shelves on March 15. In the meantime, Sweden’s “largest Gaynyhetssajt” (with over 90,000 visitors per week), qx.se, picked up the story. (Translated below)

Translation:
Football player Anton Hysén comes out
Finally Sweden has their first openly gay male professional football player. Footballer Anton Hysén comes out as gay today. In the football magazine Offside he tells his story, where he amongst other things comments on the fact that he is the first male footballer in Sweden to come out:
“It’s so weird when you think about it. It’s so fucked up, the whole thing. Where the hell is everyone else? It’s barely any other footballers who are openly gay, right?”

Anton goes on:

“There are people who can’t deal with homosexuality. And there are racists who can’t deal with immigrants. A club might be interested in me, but then the coach finds out that I’m gay and they change their mind. But then it’s their problem, not mine”, he tells Offside.

“I understand that it’s going to be different after this interview. Now everyone will know: all coaches, everyone in the opposing teams, yes, even my teammates. I’m cool with that, I just think it’s going to be exciting. People can call me whatever they want, it’ll just spur me on.”


As posted on: http://www.kephsenett.com/2011/03/09/finally-a-fotbollsspelaren/

Anton Hysen

Anton Hysén (born December 13, 1990) is a Swedish football player who plays in the Swedish fourth division for Utsiktens BK, which is coached by his father Glenn Hysén. Anton is a former member of the Swedish national under-17 association football team and was given a trainee contract with BK Häcken from 2007 to 2009, but was hindered by injuries and instead joined Utsiktens BK, for whom he plays in his third season. He was previously a member of Torslanda IK. His older brothers are football players Tobias Hysén and Alexander Hysén.

Personal life

Anton came out as gay to the Swedish football magazine Offside in March 2011. Daily Mail has described Anton as the "first high-profile Swedish footballer to announce that he is gay" and as the second professional football player to come out, after English footballer Justin Fashanu in 1990. The BBC called him "a global one-off".

Anton was profiled on TV4 on March 9, 2011, in a program moderated by Lennart Ekdal titled "Får även bögar spela fotboll?" ("Can homosexuals play football too?").

Anton works part-time as a construction worker.