According to Thijs Smeenk, the rumor of Orkun Kökçü refusing to wear the OneLove ribbon and the cancellation of the next OneLove campaign by the KNVB make it clear that football is still a conservative world.

“The football world is one of the last worlds where it’s taboo if you’re not straight,” says Smeenk Studio Soccer. “If you look at what has happened in the Netherlands over the last ten years, a lot has happened in the good sense of the word, but the football world is conservative.”

Smeenk is not only a journalist for the ANP news agency, but also a board member of the John Blankenstein Foundation and in this capacity regularly visits clubs and schools to provide information.

“I often ask clubs how many members the club has. Then the answer is, for example, a thousand. The second question is how many members are gay. The answer is then zero. That’s crazy. Maybe the climate is not good for the club.”

“As a gay Feyenoord player you don’t have to knock on your captain’s door”

Kökçü explained to the NOS camera on Saturday why he refused to wear the OneLove ribbon last week. “I respect everyone but I don’t want to be a poster child for that,” said the midfielder.

The Feyenoord captain was referring less to the OneLove campaign, which stands for solidarity and is against any form of discrimination, and more to the fact that this campaign was carried out specifically in connection with the coming-out day. “I am true to my faith,” he said.

“Painful,” says Smeenk. “As a gay or bisexual Feyenoord player, you know for sure that you don’t have to knock on your captain’s door. And you have Feyenoord’s gay fans with it too. Then you’re not a good captain.”

Progress?

With the departure of English professional footballer Jake Daniels from Blackpool FC earlier this year, Smeenk sees progress. “He had zero problems. I’m happy with that. He’s a good example. It won’t be long before a professional footballer comes out in the Netherlands.”

“We know homosexuals in football. You have to have a lot of courage to come out,” Smeenk knows. “When you hear the chants in the stadiums. It’s beaten almost every week. It’s shocking that people have to walk around with a secret.”

“Then that didn’t help?” Rafael van der Vaart refers to the excitement about Kökçü. Smeenk: “No. If you are now a professional footballer and are thinking about an outing, then you think: It doesn’t matter. It’s a matter of patience.”

Below are fragments about Daley Blind and the pre-selection of the orange squad for the World Cup, as well as the regular sections Endsignal by Frank Heinen and Korte Corner by Ellen Dikker.