Iker Casillas scores an own goal after the ‘I’m gay’ deleted tweet

Iker Casillas has won it all when it comes to the world of football, both at the club level and the international stage. The former Spanish captain lifted the country’s only World Cup trophy in 2010 and was part of a scintillating national side that dominated football from 2008-2012 (two European Championships in addition to the World Cup). As a die-hard football fan, I’ve seen the man between the sticks for Real Madrid and come to the rescue of his side time after time. They say, it takes years to build one’s reputation and only a second to lose it all. October 9 was a dark day in the life of Casillas. All it took was a joke on Twitter that went horribly wrong. 

I remember scrolling on Instagram last evening before I stumbled across a post that said Iker Casillas has come out. 

"I hope I'll be respected: I'm gay," stated the tweet sent from his account, along with the hashtag "HappySunday," also in Spanish.

My first reaction, like most people, was one of surprise. ‘More power to you, Iker’, I said in my mind. Despite him having two children, I didn’t find the news weird. I should have known better. 

Also, the drama had only just started. 

After making the statement on Twitter, the 41-year-old received a lot of support from his fans, including former teammate and Barcelona legend Carlos Puyol, who replied to him, writing "It's time to tell our stories, Iker."

[giphy]https://giphy.com/embed/8rEVtjWcJoNI5miInv[/giphy]

Yup, this was my reaction as well

With every passing minute, the truth started to come out, only making things worse.

Being on top of the story, the Spanish media reported that the tweet was nothing but a joke, made in response to Casillas being linked to a host of women every week. His PR going into disaster management mode tried to douse the fire and then did something which most people could see from a mile away. 

“Account hacked. Luckily everything in order. Apologies to all my followers. And of course, more apologies to the LGBT community.”

Puyol, too, who was ‘in’ on the joke issued an apology on Twitter and said: "I made a mistake. I apologise for a stupid joke which was not made with any bad intentions but was completely out of order. I understand why it was offensive. All my respect and support the LGTBIQA+ community."

A terrible and needless joke thankfully now deleted, but one that’s certainly made the world think less of the two football legends.

What a way to score an own goal.