Bellerin gay
Arsenal's Hector Bellerin 'affected' by on and off pitch abuse
Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin admits he has been affected by abuse he has received online and during games.
Bellerin, 23, says he has been forced to "grow dense skin" to cope with insults relating to his passion for fashion and his hairstyle as well as his performances on the pitch.
The Spaniard insists the insults he has had to deal with will not interrupt him expressing himself on and off the field.
"Some of it can get very abusive. Most of the abuse is online, but you hear it in the stadium, too," he told The Times.
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"People have called me 'lesbian' for growing my hair. There are other kinds of homophobic insults. I have learnt to grow a thick skin but it can affect you. Every now and again, you receive a bit of self-doubt.
"The difficulty is that people have an idea of what a footballer should look like, how they should behave, what they should talk about.
"You act a petty differently and you become a target. There is pressure to conform. This is very
Rainbow Laces: Hector Bellerin discusses culture and allyship with Arsenal's LGBT+ fans group
Hector Bellerin says professional footballers should aide to "break down barriers" that persist to affect both their fellow players and fans.
The Spain international right-back, who has been with Arsenal since , was chatting to two members of Arsenal's LGBT+ and allies supporters team Gay Gooners to mark the club's support of Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign, which is currently receiving its annual activation across British sport.
Gay Gooners was founded over seven years ago and now consists of nearly 1, fans who attend matches together and transmit with each other regularly.
Representing the organization, Joe White and Carl Fearn linked the video dial set up by Arsenal and Sky Sports, and common their stories of being passionate supporters, and also their coming-out journeys.
Bellerin was asked by whistleblower Pat Davison about a post he shared to his Instagram story in summer which featured Gay Gooners fans at the Lgbtq+ fest in London procession, with one wearing a shirt bearing his na
Bellerin: I'm not afraid to support Gay Gooners
The north London derby at Tottenham Hotspur is one of the biggest matches of Arsenal's season but for Hector Bellerin the hectic preparations for Sunday's fit were not going to stop him from demonstrating his support for Male lover Gooners, the club's LGBT+ fan group.
Bellerin took the time to speak with members of the organization, which gives lesbian, queer, bisexual and trans supporters a safe and welcoming space to enjoy football and campaigns to pummel homophobia out of the game.
Bellerin explained why he was happy to split a photo of a fan at a Self-acceptance march last year who was wearing a shirt with his name on it.
"I thought it was really cool," he said. "I'm not afraid to help in any way I can and I thought that was something good to do.
"I care for when someone wears my shirt and they wear it proudly. Of course, I was really elated to re-post it."
'Bellerin's support means a lot'
For the members of Male lover Gooners, one of the first LGBT+ fan groups for a big club when it was formed in , the backing of Bellerin was a source of joy.
"To own someone who
‘Literature has completely changed my life’: footballer Héctor Bellerín’s reading list
Héctor Bellerín’s summer holidays look a small different from your usual footballer. Rather than pictures from a recent jaunt to Ibiza clubs such as Ushuaia or questionable birthday parties, his Instagram is dominated by books.
Images of paperbacks he’s scan are all over his feed, a mix of classics and contemporary novels, with a majority from Spain and South America.
Alana Portero’s celebrated (and Pedro Almodóvar-approved) novels about homosexual life in 80s Madrid feature on his interpret pile, alongside the Mexican Juan Rulfo’s classic surrealist novel Pedro Páramo – which inspired a adolescent Gabriel García Márquez to write One Hundred Years of Solitude – and Federico García Lorca’s Gypsy Ballads.
Bellerín, who played for Arsenal for nine years before moving back to his native Spain with Real Betis, talks about literature’s transformative power.
“Literature has become something that has – and I realize it’s a cliche – but to me, it has completely changed my life,” he said from a Betis training c