Casillas claims Twitter was hacked after deleting 'I'm gay' tweet
In an explanation messaged, Casillas wrote: "Hacked account. Luckily everything in order. Apologies to all my followers. And of course, more apologies to the LGBT community."
Iker Casillas deleted a tweet jokingly announcing he's gay and said his account was hacked.
Iker tweeted on Sunday, 'I hope you respect me, I'm gay.' Former teammate Carles Puyol replied, 'It's time to tell our story, Iker.'
Initially, the tweets were believed to be distasteful jokes about Casillas dating Alejandra Onieva. Casillas insists his Twitter account was hacked after being criticised for provoking a shocking amount of homophobia.
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In an explanation messaged, Casillas wrote: "Hacked account. Luckily everything in order. Apologies to all my followers. And of course, more apologies to the LGBT community."
For many, the explanation may be too little too late from the ex-Real Madrid goalkeeper, with footballers who have bravely come out as gay in recent years lambasting the earlier tweets - including Josh Cavallo, the Adelaide United defender who came out as gay in October 2021.
"Iker Casillas and Carles Puyol joking and making fun out of coming out in football is disappointing," he tweeted. "It's a difficult journey that any LGBTQ+ people have to go through. To see my role models and legends of the game make fun out of coming out and my community is beyond disrespectful."
Others on social media have pointed out that joking about footballers coming out, when it is such a brave thing to do, fuels homophobia which is already rife in the game and will make it even more difficult for players to come out in the future.
