The Arsenal player, and formerEngland women’s captain, Casey Stoney came out as gay in February. In an interview with the FA. women’s footballer said that the support after she came out was “overwhelming”.

She said:

“In my head, it was going to be negative, and it was the complete opposite. It was really overwhelming. I had thousands of tweets in support. I was really overwhelmed. I love football, coming out has made me feel more comfortable in myself, and it’s showing in my performances now.. We’ve got a lot of work to do in terms of homophobia, the chants that go on in the stands. It’s all about educating people – being gay isn’t a choice, it’s something that just happens. It’s not a choice I made, it’s something that I realised when I was about 15 or 16 and I’ve lived my life that way since then.”

Casey Stoney

Of Rainbow Laces, she said:

“Campaigns like this raise the issue. It’s really important you report discrimination. If you don’t how can we stop it from happening? You have to challenge behaviours because if you don’t you can’t stop it from continuing.”

Casey Stoney