 David Beckham has courted controversy by posing for pictures in Qatar ( FIFA via Getty Images) Fashanu believes the presence of gay fans at the tournament might help Qataris understand what it means to be LGBT. It was a lesson he admits he didn't learn until older brother Justin left him in no doubt – by burying him on a beach so he could feel exactly what is like to be squeezed and suffocated from all sides. The tortured ace was the first Black player to command a £1million transfer fee, but Justin ended up killing himself in a lock-up garage in London's Shoreditch, in 1998, when he was just 37. It was eight years after he had come out publicly... but John admitted paying him £75,000 to keep quiet at one point to save the family embarrassment. John Fashanu chats to Sunday Mirror journalist Nigel Nelson ( TIM ANDERSON) He said:){kind=link}
Dancing On Ice star and former England player John Fashanu, whose brother Justin took his own life after coming out as gay, says England players should protest racism and homophobia at Qatar World Cup
Legendary striker John Fashanu has urged England’s World Cup squad to take the knee in Qatar next month â not just for racism, but for gay rights too.
In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Mirror, the former England and Wimbledon ace admitted he used to shun his late brother Justin, the first professional footballer to come out.
But now he says gay fans should be allowed to be themselves at the tournament that kicks off next month in the Islamic state, where same-sex acts are punishable by up to seven years in jail.
Fash, 60, overcame appalling racism during his playing career and says more still needs to be done to boot that form of hatred out of football too. He said: “If I was playing in Qatar I would take the knee to send the message we’re against all forms of discrimination.”