The football world has hailed former German international Thomas Hitzlsperger for being the first German player to 'come out' as gay.
The question of homosexuality in sport has suddenly become a major talking point especially after Paris Saint Germain's Brazilian star Alex walked into a row over homophobia for comments he made in a TV documentary.
According to News.com.au, Hitzlsperger's announcement has been heralded by players across Europe as an important step forward, with fellow-German international Lukas Podolski of Arsenal saying that the revelation is 'an important sign of our time'.
Podoloski tweeted that Hitzlsperger has taken a 'brave and right' decision, for which he respects him, adding that in England, Germany or Italy, homosexuality is not taken seriously as an issue, at least not in the dressing room.
There were also messages of support for Hitzlsperger on Twitter from his former club Aston Villa as well as from former England captain Gary Lineker, with Villa issuing a statement saying that Hitzlsperger's coming out is a straightforward statement and the club has great respect for him both as a player and a man.
Controversial Queens Park Rangers midfielder Joey Barton also took to Twitter to say that Hitzlsperger has shown a lot of courage, adding that it is sad that people have to wait till they retire from their chosen profession before they feel other people will judge them solely on who the human being is.
In the world of football, the only previous big name to admit openly to homosexuality was former Norwich City and Nottingham Forest striker Justin Fashanu in 1990, who committed suicide eight years later aged 37, the report added.
