Olivier Giroud: 'It Is Impossible to Be Openly Homosexual in Football'

Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud believes football still has a long way to go before being accepting of openly gay players. 

The Frenchman spoke to Le Figaro's Baptiste Desprez (h/t ESPN FC's Jonathan Johnson) and discussed the coming out of former Germany, Aston Villa and Stuttgart midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger following his retirement, and the difficulty he believes gay players would still face:

"When I saw Thomas Hitzlsperger come out back in 2014, it was very emotional. It was at this time that I thought that it is impossible to be openly homosexual in football.

"In the dressing room, there is a lot of testosterone, teasing and collective showers. It is delicate, but that is how it is. I can understand the pain and the difficulty for guys in coming out—it is a real challenge and it takes years of work on yourself.

"When I joined Montpellier, I got involved in the fight for tolerance and was on the cover of [French gay magazine] Tetu. At Arsenal, when asked, I wore rainbow laces in support of the gay community."

From November 30 to December 5, the Premier League will show its support for Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign with armbands, substitutes' boards, plinths and more:

The Premier League is engaged in a three-year partnership with the campaign. Rainbow Laces focuses on making football more inclusive for the LGBT community and calls on players and supporters alike to help by becoming "active allies."

All 72 EFL clubs will also show their support in a fixture of their choosing between November 24 and December 1.

The SPFL will also do its part:

Ryan Atkin, the first openly gay referee in the UK's professional football leagues, would like to see more done to tackle issues of homophobia in football, though:

Per Johnson, Giroud echoed a similar sentiment in his interview. 

"To say that there is still a lot of work to be done in the football world on this topic is an understatement," he concluded. "It's the least one could say."