Víctor Gutiérrez: "Although they say that LGTBI people will be safe in the World Cup, in Qatar they think we are sick"

In the future of Víctor Gutiérrez (Madrid, March 6, 1991) there seems to be no room for fear.

He was the first elite Spanish athlete who made his homosexuality visible (May 2016).

He got the first sanction for homophobia in the history of sports in Spain after another water polo player called him "faggot" (April 2021).

A year ago, and without having yet left the pool, he entered the tangle of politics to become the first LGTBI secretary of the PSOE.

And last September he published the book

, where he ordered many of the demons that had accompanied him since childhood.

Perhaps there is no worse fear than the one that is not seen.

Talk to me about fear. It has been there since we can remember.

At eight years old they already called me "faggot."

Even without knowing what it was, I already understood that it had to be something I had to stay away from if I didn't want to be messed with.

As soon as one begins to go through puberty, to have a sexual instinct and to realize his true identity, what he feels is rejection.

And you live it with fear.

Because you don't want others to know your reality.

That they can hurt you.

I have been afraid of going home if he was accompanied by my partner at night.

I have been afraid of having some affectionate gesture in public places in case there was a negative relationship from someone... We experience that fear constantly.

And if we talk about fear in a country like Spain, which is a pioneer in the fight for collective rights and freedoms, and one of the countries with the greatest acceptance,

imagine when traveling.

When the vast majority of the countries in the world, the LGTBI collective, is either persecuted, or is frowned upon. Have you been to Qatar? My principles prevent me from going to Qatar.

Another thing is that I had to do any question for work or activism.

But if it's up to me, you wouldn't spare me a penny to travel to countries where I'm not respected as a human being. Having a political position now, haven't you considered the possibility of doing something there? Yes, of course.

I am optimistic by nature.

It is necessary to assess when certain societies want to advance.

It takes time and implementation.

Of course he would lend me for something that would mean advancing Human Rights. But they have not proposed to attend. No, no.

Never. According to Khalid Salman, former soccer player and World Cup ambassador for Qatar,

homosexuals have a "mental damage." The true mental illness has a name: homophobia.

That can be cured with information and education.

Of course, what is not cured is sexual orientation.

And it is also proven.

People who think that homosexuality is a disease are the ones who need to be treated to cure their homophobia.

As much as the message that LGTBI people are going to be safe and that they can show affectionate gestures has been tried, that is the true face.

What is behind this desperate attempt to try to bring the competition closer to the whole world, the [Qatar] ambassador sums it up very well.

They think that we are sick, and that is the reality that exists in that country. What do you feel about the World Cup in Qatar? Of disbelief.

Already in itself, the entire sports dynamic had to be changed so that it could be celebrated, moving it to November-December with a break in the leagues.

All the infrastructures have had to be built at a very high cost in lives.

Last week we heard these statements from the World Cup ambassador... The stands where you can drink alcohol are already moving.

It is a country in which it is prohibited, although there will be.

But don't see much.

It's all... Incoherent.

Sport has to serve to help countries that want to catch up on many issues related to Human Rights, it has to be a tool for this.

But I think that sport has to serve to defend them.

There are red lines that should not be crossed.

This World Cup has been nonsense.

But the focus must be placed on FIFA,

which is in charge of designating the venues.

It will be necessary to consider what has led them to it.

The water polo player Víctor Gutiérrez. JAVIER BARBANCHO

He asked Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish Federation, for the team to wear the rainbow bracelet.

What was his response? I spoke to him in a personal capacity, as an activist.

I decided to call him so that Spain would join the initiative to which eight teams participating in the World Cup had already joined, such as France, Germany or England.

What he told me is that Spain did not want to be penalized as those teams will be for wearing the bracelet.

And that they were looking at other alternatives to make claims in favor of Human Rights without receiving sanctions.

I have talked with him the last few days.

It seems that Spain will join an initiative planned by the UN in which demands for respect for Human Rights will be made.

In none of them is there one specified for LGTBI people.

What I conveyed to him was that it seemed very important to me that we do our bit with visibility, and that our football be an ambassador for Human Rights.

I would also have loved if the LGTBI reality had been incorporated.

It's not like that. Have you been disappointed? I don't know if that's the word.

I would have liked Spain to have made some gesture towards a community as persecuted as the LGTBI.

And more so when there is already an initiative in which great teams are going to join.

Spain does not have to go behind any team because we are pioneers of rights and freedoms in this country.

But I would have liked our team to have had solidarity with the LGTBI collective. The fact of wearing a bracelet, a banner, can it also be a way to clear consciences so that,

Once the tournament is over, will everything continue the same? It is something that generates a debate and internal conflict in me.

These kinds of gestures were unthinkable, not 30 years ago, but 10. It was unthinkable that a football team would wear a rainbow armband like in the Premier League, where all the captains wear it.

Or in a World Cup.

Visibility is very important.

What is not seen is as if it did not exist.

And it has an invaluable impact.

Having said this, and here is my conflict, this must be accompanied by authentic and true tools to change things.

One would have to wonder what formations these clubs give coaches, players and lower categories on diversity and affective-sexual education.

What money is invested in policies.

Or what happens to the LGTBI players who are in their ranks.

Do you feel supported to take the step?

Visibility is priceless, but it must be accompanied by tangible tools to make the lives of LGTBI people better in sports venues. Isn't a boycott a much stronger message? Of course it would have had a much greater impact.

But reality is what it is.

The World Cup begins on Sunday and no federation, no player has given up participating.

I will never ever focus on the players.

In the end you fulfill your dream of reaching a World Cup and you don't know if you will repeat it again.

The responsibility lies with the organization or the federation.

The reality is what it is.

There has been no boycott.

It's going to be celebrated.

With the situation we have, the best thing we can do is get there, do activism and be visible regarding Human Rights,

which is what many national teams are going to do. Do you miss a sentence from the Spanish government against the World Cup in Qatar? We must focus on the organization, on FIFA.

Little can be done when a great championship has the institutional support of the International Football Federation and is going to be held there.

What we can do, since we are going, is to try to help as much as possible in the visibility of Human Rights and try to raise awareness of this issue.

There the Government does not have much more responsibility either. You were the first Spanish male athlete who made his homosexuality visible.

Did he think that many more would follow him than have done it?The assessment I make is very positive.

When I came out of the closet there was no visible athlete in any discipline.

My goal was to send that message of encouragement, for people to lose their fear, and try to get others to join.

Obviously I would have liked to see many more.

The following year Carlos Peralta came out in swimming, Vanesa Caballero in boxing, Marc Fortuny in judo, recently Marc Tur in athletics... More and more athletes are becoming visible and deciding to take this step.

In addition, it is not mandatory to tell it in the media either.

It is something very personal, and many athletes live their identity out of the closet, but they simply do not make any kind of plea or do not want to do activism.

That is also perfectly legitimate.

I decided to be the first to help others and inspire them, and take the LGTBI flag to do activism.

But it is not obligatory. Why is it different in football? Football is another reality.

It moves in completely different limits from other sports.

It is the most popular, with the most follow-up, and you have other rules.

There is a set of situations that keep football stagnant and where we see less evolution.

There is fear among footballers regarding the rejection of their teammates in the dressing room.

Also, every weekend we can face a footballer being called a "faggot" in stadiums of 50,000 people.

We have seen it in the 80s with the 'Míchel, fagot'.

In the 2000s the 'Guti, fagot' was sung.

And until two days ago, in Spain Cristiano was called a fag in all the stadiums in Spain.

And with impunity.

It's 40 years with the same behaviors.

exact.

And also with the same result: impunity.

It is not included in the arbitration records, there are no awareness campaigns,

It is not denounced from the Federation, the League... There is no machinery working to eradicate LGTBI-phobia.

Let each one consider it.

If you were a soccer player and you had to face the rest of your career listening to 50,000 people every weekend calling you a fagot with impunity, would you take that step?

Surely you would think so.

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