Why are there so few openly gay professional soccer players? Justin Fashanu was the first (and so far the only) U.K. player, who came out in 1990, and after a great deal of career and media criticism, eventually committed suicide in 1997.  A recent BBC documentary on Britain's Gay Footballers had Amal Fashanu, Justin's niece, asking officials why of the current 5,000 professional players, none have come out. "In the film, publicist Max Clifford, tells her: "I'd say in the last 15 years, probably half a dozen [players] that I know are either gay or bi-sexual. There have been others that I suspect....When gay footballers have come to me to protect their identity, they have made it very clear that their career would be finished if they were known to be openly gay."

Last month, The departing German football federation president says it's time for gay players to come out.

Theo Zwanziger, who will leave the post in March, called on gay players "to have the courage to declare themselves," although he conceded it was surely difficult to acknowledge one's homosexuality within a team.

Zwanziger pointed to the example of Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit, who came out years ago.

Speaking at a discussion on the subject organized by the federation, Zwanziger said...society was more understanding than a few years ago for any gays in soccer willing to out themselves.

Germany captain Philipp Lahm, however, disagrees. "Football is like being the gladiators in the old times," Lahm said in an interview.... "The politicians can come out these days, for sure, but they don't have to play in front of 60,000 people every week.

"I don't think that the society is that far ahead that it can accept homosexual players as something normal as in other areas."

Zwanziger said Lahm is a tolerant person "and if that's how he sees the situation, I am not going to be the one to criticize him."

No player in Germany's professional leagues has so far acknowledged his homosexuality.

Retired French player Olivier Rouyer came out in 2008. Currently,  Anton Hysen of Sweden,  and David Testo  of the U.S. are the only professional soccer players who are publicly out while still active, although David's contract with the Montreal Impact was not renewed at the end of 2011.  In a moving video interview, David talks about how difficult it became to hide his sexual orientation, and how bad he felt when he won his MVP but could not acknowledge his partner.