On the Globo Network podcast: “I’ve spent my life sacrificing myself to protect myself from homophobia. Football is one of the most hostile environments for homosexuals.”
In a podcast on Globo Network, 41-year-old Brazilian referee Igor Benvenuto, the still working FIFA international, appeared.
“i’m gayMen attract me. Football is the sport I grew up in, but I hated it so badly because I couldn’t stand its environment full of masculinity and prejudice. So, in order to survive, I made up a fake and affixed copy of myself. But yes, I’m gay, finally myself, but also a normal person, and you’re no better than me just because you like women. Men’s soccer: A lot of people think so, but I’ve known since my teens that I’m gay. like him I have spent my life sacrificing myself to protect myself from the physical and emotional violence of homophobia. And I ended up in one of the most hostile places, football, towards homosexuals. But to have friends, I had to show that I was straight, so I was doing my part. My family and friends took me to the stadium, but it was torture. I also tried to have relationships with girls, but I was cheating on my instincts. And there was also the fact that religion was very present in my family, and in the Bible it says that a man who lies with another man is a sinner. That’s why I thought for a long time that there was something wrong with me being a sad boy.”