John Fashanu paid late brother Justin £75k to not come out as gay

Justin Fashanu became the UK's first openly gay footballer

Footballer John Fashanu paid his brother Justin £75,000 to not come out as gay, he revealed.

The former Wimbledon star, John, paid his brother the money in a failed attempt to stop him from publicly coming out, according to reports.

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 10: John Fashanu and Amal Fashanu attend the World Premiere of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" at Odeon Leicester Square on April 10, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)

John Fashanu admits offering brother Justin £75k not to come out

Justin Fashanu came out as gay in an interview with the Sun in 1990.

He killed himself in 1998 after allegations that he sexually assaulted a teenager in the US came to light, which he strongly denied.

His younger brother John, now 53, gave an interview a week after he came out titled “my gay brother is an outcast”.

Speaking to the Mirror, John now says he “begged” and “threatened” Justin not to come out.

He compared the revelation by Justin to being “like Hiroshima or Nagasaki on our lives”.

“It knocked us dead,” John said to the Mirror.

The footballer now admits that trying to stop Justin from coming out was wrong, and that he shouldn’t have cast him out.

Apr 1981:  Justin Fashanu of Norwich City practises his ball skills.  Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK /Allsport

Justin Fashanu killed himself in 1998

“I was wrong,” he said. “It was ignorance on my behalf.

“You’ve got to remember the public’s perception of homosexuality at that time was that it was an abomination. It was taboo.”

Going on, he said the “stress” of having a gay son could have resulted in their mother’s death.

“I gave him the money because I didn’t want the embarrassment for me or my family,” he told the newspaper.

“Had he come out now, it would be a different ball game.”

According to the Mirror, John still doesn’t believe his brother Justin was gay.

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