Former Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas came out as gay on Sunday, 9th October 2022 through a tweet that read, “I hope I’ll be respected: I’m gay.” Soon social media started buzzing with this development as the news was unexpected to all. Things took another turn when former Barcelona defender Carles Puyol replied to the Casillas tweet saying, “It’s time to tell our stories, Iker.”
The Real Madrid goalkeeper however soon deleted the tweet and made another that read, “Hacked account. Luckily everything in order. Apologies to all my followers. And of course, more apologies to the LGBT community.”
Cuenta hackeada. Por suerte todo en orden. Disculpas a todos mis followers. Y por supuesto, más disculpas a la comunidad LGTB. ?
— Iker Casillas (@IkerCasillas) October 9, 2022
With this new Tweet, Casillas has disavowed the claim and Puyol has also joined him in apologising. After the controversy, Puyol said, “I was wrong. Sorry for this clumsy joke without bad intentions and totally misplaced. I understand that it may have hurt. All my respect and support to the LGBTQIA+ community.”
Earlier many had claimed that Casillas made this tweet in response to increased rumours about his dating life in the media. A few days ago, there were rumours of his relationship with sister-in-law Alejandra Onieva. He was also asked if he was dating former Spanish teammate Gerard Pique’s ex-wife, Shakira.
The joke not well received in the LGBTQ+ community
Following the tweets, however, many proponents of LGBTQ rights and other footballers have come out and criticised Casillas’s joke made at the behest of Gay people. Josh Cavallo, an Australian openly gay footballer was highly critical of Iker’s joke on homosexuality and coming out. In a strongly worded tweet, he said, “Iker Casillas and Carles Puyol joking and making fun out of coming out in football in disappointing. It’s a difficult journey that any LGBTQ+ ppl have to go through. To see my role models and legends of the game make fun out of coming out and my community is beyond disrespectful.”
Others on Twitter also joined Cavallo in condemning Casillas and Puyol for making the tone-deaf joke and making the lives of gay footballers even more difficult than it already was.
Let’s look at how Twitter reacted to Iker Casillas’s and Carles Puyol’s joke.
@IkerCasillas and @Carles5puyol joking and making fun out of coming out in football is disappointing. It’s a difficult journey that any LGBTQ+ ppl have to go through. To see my role models and legends of the game make fun out of coming out and my community is beyond disrespectful pic.twitter.com/Yp88aQyyTV
— Josh Cavallo (@JoshuaCavallo) October 9, 2022
Iker Casillas and Carlos Puyol doing a dynamite job of being shit blokes
— Marissa Lordanic (@marissalordanic) October 10, 2022
It’s beyond comprehension that any public figure – let alone one with tens of millions of footballers – does not understand that their words have an impact on people. That’s the main thing about the Iker Casillas and Carles Puyol tweets that blows me away.
— Taryn (@tarynheddo) October 9, 2022
Iker Casillas only said he got hacked to save face. People cannot come out for serious reasons and he and Carles Puyol have made it even more difficult. This is a serious lesson for them both to learn from, if they choose to learn from it.
— Quinn Brown ????????? (@QuinnBrown112) October 9, 2022
Iker Casillas & Carles Puyol should be ashamed. Making a joke about coming out is not only pathetic & sickening but it fuels homophobia. It achieves exactly the opposite of what we want football to be: a safe, inclusive & respectful space. Lost all respect for both players.
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) October 9, 2022
Iker Casillas and Carles Puyol's tweets were pathetic and all they've achieved is to embolden the homophobic attitudes that are already rife within football and within football fandom. Slow progress is being made, things like this simply make it even slower.
— Jonny Sharples (@JonnyGabriel) October 9, 2022
iker casillas has singlehandedly stopped any professional male footballer from coming out as gay for at least 2 years with that little gag
— mia hates johnny herbert ??????? (@nufcenby) October 9, 2022
Iker Casillas managed to alienate millions of homophobes, millions of LGBT people, millions of people who think that coming out shouldn’t be “banter,” and probably discouraged a lot of pro footballers from coming out as well.
41 years old.
— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) October 9, 2022
Iker Casillas and Carlos Puyol joking about being gay really isn’t funny, no idea what they are thinking. Casillas is 41 years of age, now male footballers who actually are gay and feeling like coming out will be even more put off with it seeing the amount of hatred under it.
— Josh Bunting (@Buntingfootball) October 9, 2022
Iker Casillas has deleted his tweet, seems incredibly unlikely it was a sincere message. He has a lot of explaining to do. As do all the homophobes who outed themselves in reaction.
— Sam Homewood (@SamHomewood) October 9, 2022
