FA chairman Greg Clarke believes Premier League footballers would still receive 'significant abuse' if they came out as gay and has promised to crackdown on a perceived culture of homophobia in the sport.
Clarke, who was appointed chairman in September, promised a plan with the central aim of stamping out homophobic abuse within modern football, admitting is the Football Association's priority to ensure an environment in which gay footballers can feel safe to come out in public.
Justin Fashanu became the first player in England to come out in 1990 but, since his suicide in 1998, no player has done so while playing in the country.
Former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger became the first footballer with Premier League experience to reveal he was gay in January 2014.
'It would be impossible for a gay Premier League player to come out,' admits FA chairman https://t.co/bUjDRrDJTD
"To me, before we encourage people to come out, we have to provide the safe space where they have an expectation of being able to play and watch football and not be abused,� he said.
We need to change attitudes so people look down their noses at people who give that vile abuse as well as strong punishment.
I would be amazed if we haven't got gay players in the Premier League and I am personally ashamed that they don't feel safe to come out,� he said.
Our job as a regulator is to come down like a tonne of bricks and make sure that sort of abhorrent behaviour is driven from the game,� he said.
I can't give you enough of a commitment of how much we loathe it. There is a very, very small minority of people who hurl vile abuse at people they perceive are different.
"I don't think we have cracked the problem yet. When you are in a big crowd, and it gets anonymous, the bad people get brave.
There was an example at the weekend where there were allegations at Leyton Orient versus Luton that the Luton fans were hurling homophobic abuse at a group of men they perceived to be gay. That behaviour is disgusting.�