Spanish Footballer Marries Partner In International First For Game
Image: alberto_leja/Instagram
Spanish footballer, Alberto Lejárraga has married his long term partner, actor and musician Rubén Fernández, in a sweet ceremony, marking a new first for the sport.
With his marriage, the 30-year-old has become the first out gay football player to marry their same sex partner while still being active in the league. He’s also currently the country’s only out gay player.
The pair married at Hacienda Las Fuentes, a wedding venue on the Costa del Sol last month, with Lejárraga recently sharing some photos from the wedding on Instagram, writing that they were “undoubtedly some of the best [moments] of our lives!”
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“We’re writing this post to share all of this, but above all to say thank you. To thank the people who joined us that day. To thank all of you who took a moment to congratulate us. To thank you, ultimately, to those of you who are so happy we were able to experience such a wonderful day!”
One photo shows Lejárraga’s groomsmen wearing bow ties adorned with photos of football players, in a sweet nod to his career.
Being openly gay in football a “very toxic place”
The goalkeeper came out publicly in 2023 at age of 28, in a post to social media celebrating his team’s promotion to the forth-tier league. Amongst the collage of photos with his family and friends, Lejárraga posted one of him and Fernández kissing.
“Thank you so much for always being by my side, during the good and the bad,” he wrote. “Now it’s our turn to live it up.”
The pair are currently honeymooning together in Japan, updating their Instagram followers with new snaps from their trip.
At the time of writing, there are only six out gay male professional footballers internationally, and homophobia within the sport is still rife.
For Australia’s own Josh Cavallo, the world’s first openly gay professional football player, coming out has helped him become an outspoken advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights and homophobia in sport, but it hasn’t all been smooth sailing.
“There [are] multiple, multiple, multiple death threats that come my way daily still. It’s quite sad to see,” he said in March. “In the world of football, being an openly gay player is a very toxic place. It’s something that not everyone would be able to handle.
“We’re still a very, very long way off being [accepted] in this space.”
Cavallo will soon join Lejárraga and his husband in wedded bliss, proposing to fiancé Leighton Morrell on the field of Adelaide United FC’s Coopers Stadium in March last year.
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