LGBTQ+ Stonewall, who worked with Jake Daniels before he revealed he was gay, have condemned homophobic abuse targeting the Blackpool striker in the aftermath of the announcement.

The 17-year-old made the brave announcement in a television interview on Monday evening making him the first openly gay active professional footballer in Britain since Justin Fashanu in 1990. He received widespread support throughout the footballing world with the likes of England captain Harry Kane and Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea offering their support.

However, the statement he issued on the Blackpool Football Club website that was later published on Twitter was met with homophobic abuse in the replies by a number of users. The Seasiders sought out support from Stonewall to aid Daniels in his process to become an openly gay player and their Director of Programmes Liz Ward was heartened by the overall response but felt saddened by the evident abuse targeting the young forward.

READ MORE: Blackpool and Jake Daniels are at the forefront of progression but this should only be the start

“We are proud that Jake has felt able to share his truth with the world and are heartened by the overwhelmingly support he’s received from across football, media, politics and the fans," Ward said.

“To come out as the UK’s first openly gay professional footballer in nearly 30 years takes incredible courage and we believe that football is ready for this moment.

“It’s sad that a tiny number of people have reacted to the news by posting hate, which has no place in sport.

“It’s important that we all take a stand against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia – both on and off the pitch. The hate Jake’s received is unacceptable but it’s important to remember that these disgusting comments do not reflect the general public’s attitude towards LGBTQ+ athletes, who are overwhelmingly supportive of LGBTQ+ players.

“We know that there’s still a way to go to combat anti-LGBTQ+ hate but it’s fantastic that we’re moving towards a world where players can live openly as their true selves – and that is something we can all take pride in.”

Social media sites have long had complaints surrounding the way in which they deal with abuse on their sites, particularly Twitter, and this is another example of the type of issues people are facing on a daily basis.

A spokesperson for the site said: “We are committed to combating abuse motivated by hatred, prejudice or intolerance and as outlined in our hateful conduct policy, we do not tolerate the abuse or harassment of people on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, gender identity.

“While we have made recent strides in giving people greater control to manage their safety, we know there is still work to be done. This is a company-wide priority as our product, policy and engineering teams continue to work at scale and pace to build a healthier Twitter.

“We have removed the majority of the tweets referenced for violations of our hateful conduct policy and will continue to take action when we identify any tweets or accounts that violate the Twitter rules.”

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