Soccer referee has never hidden his boyfriend and shares videos of them kissing
Pascal Kaiser officiates in German soccer and has become a vocal advocate for gay and bi men in the sport worldwide. The post Soccer referee has never hidden his boyfriend and shares videos of them kissing appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Since Pascal Kaiser went public three years ago about being a bisexual man in soccer, his profile has grown considerably.
The referee is now very comfortable with being visible in a sport where gay and bi men are rarely represented out on the pitch.
The 27-year-old has around 170,000 followers on social media. There are few match officials or umpires anywhere on the planet who are as popular.
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On Instagram in Pride Month, he shared a video of a kiss with his boyfriend Moritz, and several photos of the couple together.
One was of another kiss, this time pitchside at FC Koln’s RheinEnergieStadion. Kaiser, who lives in Cologne, is a huge fan of the Bundesliga club and has a tattoo of its crest on his arm.
As an assistant referee, he operates down at the fifth tier of the German league pyramid, known as the Oberliga Niederrhein.
Yet matches at this level regularly attract crowds in the hundreds, which gives an indication as to Kaiser’s considerable courage.
Running the line puts him close to fans, whose cheers and jeers are often alcohol-fuelled. But whether confronted with homophobia in stadiums or online, he is fearless.
“I see this as my mission: to create visibility. To be a voice. And to encourage people who aren’t yet brave enough to speak up,” he told gay website Schwulissimo.
“I know how lonely it can be to think you’re the only one. I want no one to have to feel that way again.”
Pascal Kaiser says change only comes through visibility
At the time he came out, Kaiser was living and working in Prignitz, located between Hamburg and Berlin.
He helped to set up a local Pride event (in Germany, these are known as “Christopher Street Day” parades, abbreviated to “CSD”), and the editor of the local newspaper asked him why he was motivated to do so.
With no other out LGBTQ referees, Kaiser was thrust into the spotlight when an article was then published about him.
However, he took it all in his stride and was applauded by players and staff from both teams when he refereed his next match.
He dismisses any suggestion that sexuality has no relevance to sports, describing that as an opinion that is “as convenient as it is dangerous.”
“It ignores the fact that queer people don’t just live on the pitch — they also live off it,” he says.
“When a heterosexual player talks about his girlfriend, no one asks, “What does that have to do with football?”
“But when I talk about my partner, they suddenly say, “It’s a private matter.”
“Since coming out, I’ve been much more open on the pitch. I don’t hide anything anymore, and that makes me stronger — not weaker. We have to dare to be fully present.”
Kaiser says he has been contacted by several soccer players and officials who are also gay or bi, including from the Bundesliga.
He was disappointed last year when a much-hyped “coming out day” in the sport ultimately saw nobody share their stories publicly.
He understands their ongoing struggles better than most, but wants to imbue those impacted with the same courage and sense of determination that has transformed his life.
He urges them: “Please go out onto the pitch anyway. Please give football the chance to become your home — just as it became for me.
“Don’t let old images of masculinity or stupid sayings convince you that you don’t have a place here. Because you don’t just have a place — you change the space with your presence.
“It might not always be easy. You might hear things that hurt. But you will also experience how strong you really are.
“You will see that change only begins when people like you and me become visible.
“And if someone asks you why you’re ‘putting yourself through this,’ say: ‘Because my heart beats for football — and my love for myself is greater than the hatred of others!'”
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The post Soccer referee has never hidden his boyfriend and shares videos of them kissing appeared first on Outsports.
