Amal Fashanu claims to know of seven gay Premier League players

Niece of Justin Fashanu investigated homosexuality in the game for a BBC Three documentary and says football is a 'dark world'

Amal Fashanu pictures in 2012 (GETTY IMAGES)

The niece of Justin Fashanu, the footballer who committed suicide after revealing he was homosexual, claims she knows of seven gay footballers currently playing in the Premier League.

Amal Fashanu, daughter of footballer John Fashanu, presented a documentary for BBC Three titled 'Britain's Gay Footballers' in 2012 in which she investigated the issue of homosexuality in the game.

The issue is one close to her heart after uncle Justin committed suicide in 1998 after publicly revealing his sexuality.

Despite prominent athletes in other sports coming out, there is just one openly gay footballer currently playing the sport.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Amal claimed she knows of seven gay players currently playing in England's top division and explained why they may have chosen not to speak publicly about it.

"I actually know myself of seven. I will never, ever share their details," said Amal.

"I’m not going to out them because I would never do that.

"You want to be honest, even to help them out, but you just can’t do that. The football world is extremely dark.

"I don’t even want to imagine being a footballer, what it must be like."

There are no openly gay Premier League players (Getty)

Robbie Rogers, who played for Leeds United, revealed he was gay and immediately retired at the age of 25. However he has since returned to the game and currently plays for MLS side LA Galaxy. He is the only openly gay footballer currently plying his trade.

Former Aston Villa player Thomas Hitzlsperger came out in 2014, making him the only openly gay player to have played in the Premier League.