Football pundit and minister won’t debate coming out as gay on tv

Did Dutch banks give red card to clearing house idea? Photo: Depositphotos.com
Photo: Depositphotos.com

There will be no debate between football pundit Johan Derksen and emancipation minister Ingrid van Engelshoven about how difficult it is to come out as gay in the football world.

The minister had challenged Derksen to an open debate on comments he made about a petition to make football more gay friendly.

Derksen said on television show Veronica Inside that the people who drew up the petition were ‘two young, hysterical little gay men’. ‘Grow up,’ Derksen said. ‘We have to stop going on about how awful it is to come out of the closet. If you have a bit of character, you just do it.’

Derksen, who has a reputation for sailing close to the wind with comments about race, said he was willing to meet the minister face to face on his football television show Veronica Inside.

The minister, however, has rejected the idea, saying a television show is ‘not the right setting for a nuanced conversation,’ the AD reported.

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