Roy Hodgson believes football is continuing to make strides to become more inclusive for players and fans from minority communities.
When asked at an address at Cambridge University Union on Wednesday evening about how he felt the game would react should a player come out as gay, he said: “I don’t think it would cause anything like the sensation today it would have done 25 or 30 years ago.
"I haven’t come across it personally but that doesn’t mean to say that it doesn’t exist.”
Roy Hodgson was speaking at an event at Cambridge University
As The FA, Kick It Out, Show Racism the Red Card, and the PFA work together to tackle discrimination in all its forms, Hodgson also suggested barriers were being broken down.
And on homophobia, he says attitudes have changed.
“I don’t think there’s the taboo that maybe there was in the past," he added.
"But it would be unrealistic in football to not accept that there are a number of people who are gay because it covers every other walk of life.
"In rugby you’ve seen an example recently of someone who has actually come out. A top player [Gareth Thomas] said that he was gay.”
Sue Ravenlaw, The FA’s head of equality, added: "The FA continues to tackle, and raise awareness of, homophobia and encourage more LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] involvement across the game at all levels.
“The FA continues to tackle and raise awareness of homophobia ”
Sue Ravenlaw
FA Head of Equality
"We aim to make football a safe and inclusive environment for LGBT people, as well as ensure that homophobic, biphobic and transphobic discriminatory abuse are addressed robustly.
"We actively supported Robbie Rogers, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Casey Stoney when they came out publicly and have openly gay and lesbian members of our Inclusion Advisory Board, The FA Council and on The FA Group staff.
"The FA's Reporting Discrimination films, which can be viewed here on TheFA.com, guide players and fans on how to report alleged discriminatory abuse. The films were recently endorsed in the Pink News by LGB organisations FvH, GFSN and Stonewall FC."
