Football referee says there are three gay players in every team

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a white background.

A football referee has said he knows there are three gay players in every team.

The referee has also called for the players to come out together.

Babak Rafati, a German-Iranian referee, says that many gay and bi players pretend to have girlfriends to put people off knowing.

He said: “Yes, I know gay footballers and referees in the [German premier league] Bundesliga,” Rafati said.

“There are three to four players in every team.

“Kiss here, kiss there,” Rafati added.

“But in reality, they don’t really fancy the lady.”

The last top rank German to come out was Thomas Hitzlsperger, who had played for Aston Villa in the UK FA.

The referee also said that he had struggled to share his mental health illness, drawing a comparison between the two.

It comes after a British MP said three top flight stars are in talks with the Football Association about revealing their sexuality.

SNP politician John Nicholson said: “I understand there are three payers in talks with the FA about coming out, and they haven’t done so yet.”

FA boss Greg Clarke had previously said he didn’t the beautiful game was ready for a footballer to come out.

Sports Minister Tracey Crouch said players were “clearly” scared about the reaction of going public, she warned, adding: “If you have got comments right at the top saying now is not the right time, no wonder in many respects that they remain scared.”