Klaus Nierhoff was a member of the cast of the ARD cult series ‘Lindenstraße’ for seven years. When he did ‘Zwei Gesichter’ (Two Faces), a short film funded by the DFB Cultural Foundation about a Youth Bundesliga player, the renowned theatre and film actor was content with a small supporting role. In ‘Lindenstraße’ he played the local politician Christian Brenner, while in ‘Zwei Gesichter’ he portrayed a bartender in a gay bar. For many years, Nierhoff has been campaigning for the gay and lesbian youth centre in Cologne called ‘anyway’, whose teenagers had produced ‘Zwei Gesichter’. “The theme of homosexuality should also openly be dealt with in football so that people no longer have to live a double life,” he said.
One year ago, on 8th January 2013, Thomas Hitzlsperger drew a line under his double life. In the weekly newspaper Die Zeit, the 52-time capped Germany international spoke about the issue of homosexuality in reference to professional football in a sophisticated manner. “Modern football is not the place for outdated beliefs and people with antiquated prejudices,” he said while looking optimistically into the future. “That is encouraging for the young guys who are now coming into professional sport.”
At the same time, Hitzlsperger formulated a sharp critique of an attitude which still involves ignorance and outdated prejudices. “Homosexuality is simply ignored in football,” said Hitzlsperger, who believes that the theme remains “stuck in clichés” and that there is “a lot of peer pressure” at the clubs.
Niersbach: “Thomas was always a role-model”
Thomas Hitzlsperger, whose goals in the last two games of the 2006/07 season played a significant role in VfB Stuttgart’s title win, received a lot of support when he came out. His courage, along with the sophisticated way in which he spoke, was greatly appreciated. “When he was an international footballer, Thomas was always a role-model who I had the upmost respect for,” said DFB president Wolfgang Nierbach. “That respect has grown even more since he came out.” A year has passed since then.
Jörg Litwinschuh has stressed the progress which has been made since 8th January 2013. The chairman of the Federal Foundation Magnus Hirschfeld said: “Thomas Hitzlsperger coming out has had a big effect. It has been talked about at every table in even the smallest villages in Germany.” Hitzlsperger has started a “grassroots movement” which has changed football. Hitzlsperger himself wants to hold a press conference on 11th February in Berlin to conclude which changes his coming out has triggered.
DFB with clear stance against homophobia
The DFB had already been involved in battling homophobia in football long before Hitzlsperger came out. As early as 2007, the association began collaborating with various homosexual interest groups. In 2013, the DFB signed the “Berlin Declaration” drafted by the Magnus Hirschfeld Federal Foundation, symbolising a clear stance against homophobia and a commitment to diversity, respect and tolerance in sports. Furthermore, Wolfgang Niersbach and Dr. Reinhard Rauball, the president of the league association, were guests at a charity dinner hosted by the foundation in September 2014. In 2013, the DFB commissioned a panel of experts, including the education expert Tanja Walter-Ahrens, the sociologist Prof. Dr. Gunter A. Pilz and the Bundesliga’s fan liaison officer Thomas Schneider, to draft the pamphlet “Football and Homosexuality”, which was then made available to all 26,000 football clubs.
As a follow-up, the DFB organised a meeting involving all regional associations and is planning to host an easily accessible online workshop for amateur clubs this summer. How is an upper tier club supposed to deal with a player coming out? If I am a coach, how do I prevent discrimination and bullying in the dressing room and on the pitch? The association is attempting to deliver the answers to these crucial questions at all levels of the football pyramid. However, such efforts are not to be misunderstood as an attempt to encourage professionals to come out.
“If someone is making that decision for themselves, we will support them,” explains Wolfgang Niersbach. “However, as an association, we will never demand it. This is a highly personal matter.” It is more important to strengthen the alliance of associations, clubs, the media, and fan institutions in order to battle still existing prejudices, including social bias. Kids often use the word “gay” as a term of abuse and in 2007, the study “Deutsche Zustände” (German conditions) found a third of all Germans were still disgusted at the sight of men kissing in public.
Short film ‘Zwei Gesichter’ to foster understanding
The short feature film ‘Zwei Gesichter’ recounts the fictional story of the highly talented Youth Bundesliga player Jonathan, who is about to sign his first professional contract. At the same time he begins to realise that he is sexually attracted to men rather than women. Afraid that his secret will be revealed, he leads a double life, staging a relationship with a close female friend. When the charade is unmasked and it looks like Jonathan is going to quit football. It is the determined attitude of his coach that allows the plot to take a positive twist. To him, the aspects that happen on the pitch are the only ones that matter.
“This is a feat not to be achieved in a single evening; the message of this film will have to be enforced on a step-by-step basis,” admitted DFB vice president Eugen Gehlenborg at the film’s premiere hosted by the German Sport and Olympic Museum in Cologne. The Mittelrhein Football Association has included the film as a mandatory component in their coaching qualification course – much to the delight of Klaus Nierhoff: “We should all begin to be more relaxed when dealing with the sexual identity of the people around us, especially in football.”
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Klaus Nierhoff was a member of the cast of the ARD cult series ‘Lindenstraße’ for seven years. When he did ‘Zwei Gesichter’ (Two Faces), a short film funded by the DFB Cultural Foundation about a Youth Bundesliga player, the renowned theatre and film actor was content with a small supporting role. In ‘Lindenstraße’ he played the local politician Christian Brenner, while in ‘Zwei Gesichter’ he portrayed a bartender in a gay bar. For many years, Nierhoff has been campaigning for the gay and lesbian youth centre in Cologne called ‘anyway’, whose teenagers had produced ‘Zwei Gesichter’. “The theme of homosexuality should also openly be dealt with in football so that people no longer have to live a double life,” he said.
One year ago, on 8th January 2013, Thomas Hitzlsperger drew a line under his double life. In the weekly newspaper Die Zeit, the 52-time capped Germany international spoke about the issue of homosexuality in reference to professional football in a sophisticated manner. “Modern football is not the place for outdated beliefs and people with antiquated prejudices,” he said while looking optimistically into the future. “That is encouraging for the young guys who are now coming into professional sport.”
At the same time, Hitzlsperger formulated a sharp critique of an attitude which still involves ignorance and outdated prejudices. “Homosexuality is simply ignored in football,” said Hitzlsperger, who believes that the theme remains “stuck in clichés” and that there is “a lot of peer pressure” at the clubs.
Niersbach: “Thomas was always a role-model”
Thomas Hitzlsperger, whose goals in the last two games of the 2006/07 season played a significant role in VfB Stuttgart’s title win, received a lot of support when he came out. His courage, along with the sophisticated way in which he spoke, was greatly appreciated. “When he was an international footballer, Thomas was always a role-model who I had the upmost respect for,” said DFB president Wolfgang Nierbach. “That respect has grown even more since he came out.” A year has passed since then.
Jörg Litwinschuh has stressed the progress which has been made since 8th January 2013. The chairman of the Federal Foundation Magnus Hirschfeld said: “Thomas Hitzlsperger coming out has had a big effect. It has been talked about at every table in even the smallest villages in Germany.” Hitzlsperger has started a “grassroots movement” which has changed football. Hitzlsperger himself wants to hold a press conference on 11th February in Berlin to conclude which changes his coming out has triggered.
DFB with clear stance against homophobia
The DFB had already been involved in battling homophobia in football long before Hitzlsperger came out. As early as 2007, the association began collaborating with various homosexual interest groups. In 2013, the DFB signed the “Berlin Declaration” drafted by the Magnus Hirschfeld Federal Foundation, symbolising a clear stance against homophobia and a commitment to diversity, respect and tolerance in sports. Furthermore, Wolfgang Niersbach and Dr. Reinhard Rauball, the president of the league association, were guests at a charity dinner hosted by the foundation in September 2014. In 2013, the DFB commissioned a panel of experts, including the education expert Tanja Walter-Ahrens, the sociologist Prof. Dr. Gunter A. Pilz and the Bundesliga’s fan liaison officer Thomas Schneider, to draft the pamphlet “Football and Homosexuality”, which was then made available to all 26,000 football clubs.
As a follow-up, the DFB organised a meeting involving all regional associations and is planning to host an easily accessible online workshop for amateur clubs this summer. How is an upper tier club supposed to deal with a player coming out? If I am a coach, how do I prevent discrimination and bullying in the dressing room and on the pitch? The association is attempting to deliver the answers to these crucial questions at all levels of the football pyramid. However, such efforts are not to be misunderstood as an attempt to encourage professionals to come out.
“If someone is making that decision for themselves, we will support them,” explains Wolfgang Niersbach. “However, as an association, we will never demand it. This is a highly personal matter.” It is more important to strengthen the alliance of associations, clubs, the media, and fan institutions in order to battle still existing prejudices, including social bias. Kids often use the word “gay” as a term of abuse and in 2007, the study “Deutsche Zustände” (German conditions) found a third of all Germans were still disgusted at the sight of men kissing in public.
Short film ‘Zwei Gesichter’ to foster understanding
The short feature film ‘Zwei Gesichter’ recounts the fictional story of the highly talented Youth Bundesliga player Jonathan, who is about to sign his first professional contract. At the same time he begins to realise that he is sexually attracted to men rather than women. Afraid that his secret will be revealed, he leads a double life, staging a relationship with a close female friend. When the charade is unmasked and it looks like Jonathan is going to quit football. It is the determined attitude of his coach that allows the plot to take a positive twist. To him, the aspects that happen on the pitch are the only ones that matter.
“This is a feat not to be achieved in a single evening; the message of this film will have to be enforced on a step-by-step basis,” admitted DFB vice president Eugen Gehlenborg at the film’s premiere hosted by the German Sport and Olympic Museum in Cologne. The Mittelrhein Football Association has included the film as a mandatory component in their coaching qualification course – much to the delight of Klaus Nierhoff: “We should all begin to be more relaxed when dealing with the sexual identity of the people around us, especially in football.”
