 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Justinus Soni Fashanu[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 19 February 1961[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Hackney, London, England[1] | ||
| Date of death | 2 May 1998 (aged 37)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Shoreditch,[1] London, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Norwich City | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1978–1981 | Norwich City | 90 | (35) |
| 1980 | → Adelaide City (loan) | 5 | (3) |
| 1981 | → Adelaide City (loan) | 6 | (2) |
| 1981–1982 | Nottingham Forest | 32 | (3) |
| 1982 | → Southampton (loan) | 9 | (3) |
| 1982–1985 | Notts County | 64 | (20) |
| 1985–1987 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 16 | (2) |
| 1988 | Los Angeles Heat | 12 | (5) |
| 1988–1989 | Edmonton Brick Men | 35 | (22) |
| 1989 | Manchester City | 2 | (0) |
| 1989–1990 | West Ham United | 2 | (0) |
| 1990 | Leyton Orient | 5 | (0) |
| 1990–1991 | Hamilton Steelers | 29 | (10) |
| 1991 | Southall | 6 | (1) |
| 1991 | Toronto Blizzard | 10 | (3) |
| 1991 | Leatherhead | ||
| 1991 | Newcastle United | 0 | (0) |
| 1991–1993 | Torquay United | 41 | (15) |
| 1993 | Airdrieonians | 16 | (5) |
| 1993 | Trelleborg | 1 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | Heart of Midlothian | 11 | (1) |
| 1995–1997 | Atlanta Ruckus | 7 | (1) |
| 1997 | Miramar Rangers | 18 | (12) |
| Total | 417 | (133) | |
| International career | |||
| 1979 | England Youth | 2 | (0) |
| 1979 | England B | 1 | |
| 1980–1982 | England U21 | 11 | (5) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Justinus Soni "Justin" Fashanu (/ˈfæʃənuː/ FASH-ə-noo; 19 February 1961 – 2 May 1998) was an English footballer who played for a variety of clubs between 1978 and 1997. He was known by his early clubs to be gay, and came out publicly later in his career, becoming the first professional footballer to be openly gay.[3] He was also one of the first footballers to command a £1 million transfer fee, with his transfer from Norwich City to Nottingham Forest in 1981, and had varying levels of success as a player afterwards, until he retired in 1997.
After moving to the United States, in 1998 he was questioned by police when a seventeen-year-old boy accused him of sexual assault. He was charged,[4][5] and a warrant for his arrest was issued in Howard County, Maryland, on 3 April 1998, but he had already left his flat.[4] According to his suicide note, fearing he would not get a fair trial because of his homosexuality,[5] he fled to England,[5] where he killed himself in London in May 1998.[4][5] His suicide note stated that the sex was consensual.[4][5] In 2020, Fashanu was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame.[6]
- ^ a b c d e "Justin Fashanu". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- ^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
- ^ Fashanu, Amal (4 February 2012). "The Sports Charter shines a welcome light on homophobia in football". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference
Times1998was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference
BBC19980909was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Justin Fashanu Hall of Fame profile". National Football Museum. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
His stunning strike against Liverpool in February 1980 – a stunning volley from outside the area – was voted BBC Goal of the Season, and has gone down as one of the greatest goals ever scored at Carrow Road.