In the UK in the 1980’s the Fashanu Brothers were the golden boys of British soccer and Justin Fashanu would go on to be the first black player to command a £1 million transfer fee. However it was his younger brother John that became the media darling, whilst Justin’s life was the subject of much nasty tabloid coverage because he was the first (and to this day only) openly gay professional British footballer.
When Justin’s career started to stall he moved to the US but his life there was brought to an abrupt halt when he was accused of having sex with a 18 year old. On his return to London, estranged from his homophobic brother, Justin took his own life when he was just 37 years old.
Now, nearly 20 years after his death, there is a brand new documentary called Forbidden Games: The Justin Fashanu Story which delves into his story and which plays out over a backdrop of bullying and bigotry in football. Directed by Adam Darke & Jon Carey the movie is now available streaming on Amazon.
Labels: 2017, culture, documentary, movie, sport
