Real Betis players Aitor Ruibal and Borja Iglesias fall victim to homophobic insults, duo denounce abuses

Homophobia is a rampant problem around the world, with Real Betis players Aitor Ruibal and Borja Iglesias the latest to fall victim. The pair were on the receiving end of homophobic insults after Iglesias uploaded some photos on Instagram, where he was seen carrying a hand purse around his shoulder, while Ruibal was also seen with one and also had his hair dyed pink and blue.

Both footballers have since then taken to Twitter to denounce such remarks. Ruibal wrote, “After the frustrated attempts by a noisy minority to ridicule my colleague Borja Iglesias and me, in reference to our clothing as well as its supposed link to our sexual orientation, I just want to underline: The importance of maintaining respect for any person, regardless of their sexual orientation or of any kind”.

“The need, once and for all, to normalize and live together, rejecting and moving away from any type of phobia, to make it possible to live normally in our society.

“Condemn homophobia, which evidently continues to exist to a greater or lesser extent, and fight for its eradication.

“Those who at this point continue to show behaviors of this type urgently need help. The problem is with them because of their intolerance and their complexes”, he further added.

Meanwhile, Iglesias stated, “Every time these types of situations occur in reference to the phobias that still exist, they give me strength to continue fighting so that everyone can do and enjoy themselves and others as they really want.

“Thank you very much for all the messages of affection that you always give me. And to those of you who are still in prehistory, I send you a lot of encouragement, it must be very difficult not to evolve and continue conditioning yourself instead of enjoying how precious life is,” he further stated.

Iglesias finished the season fourth in the La Liga top-scorer award race, scoring 15 goals. Meanwhile, Betis finished in sixth place in the La Liga standings, qualifying for Europa League football.