It would appear to be a hoax all along, which if true, is a genuinely disgusting thing to do, but it did (re)start a conversation about homosexuality in football. The one thing I have seen over and over again on twitter, and I've seen it mentioned a few times in this thread, is 'why do gay people feel the need to "announce to the world" that they're gay. Can't they just be gay and live their lives privately?" - to that I'd say this; coming out isn't announcing it to the world, it is announcing it to the people who care about you. Being openly gay still isn't an easy thing to do. Don't be fooled by the fact that we're in 2019. We've obviously made huge strides as a society, but gay men and women still face huge problems with family members, parents and society at large etc - and this is before we get to footballers who lead very public lives, and perform their jobs in front of thousands of screaming fans.