Iker Casillas releases statement saying he was hacked after “I’m gay” tweet

Football legend Iker Casillas has released a statement saying his social media account was hacked following a tweet saying he was gay.

He has since taken to social media to explain that the tweet was the result of a hack and to apologise to his followers and the LGBT community.

A translation of his tweet reads: "Hacked account. Luckily everything in order. Apologies to all my followers. And of course, more apologies to the LGBT community."

Barcelona legend Carles Puyol has also deleted his tweet replying to Casillas' initial announcement which had said: "It's time to tell our story, Iker."

Reports in Spain have claimed that Casillas posted the 'I'm gay' tweet as an 'ironic' response to rumours that he's in a relationship with actor Alejandra Onieva.

Others have hit out at the homophobic backlash which followed Casillas' initial tweet, saying male players considering coming out 'will be even more put off' after what they've seen.

Casillas' tweet which he says was the result of an account hack received plenty of support, but there was also a lot of homophobic abuse and people making jokes about the apparent announcement.

The number of male football players to come out as gay is incredibly low, with many of those few who do only making an announcement after they've hung up their boots for good.

Earlier this year Blackpool forward Jake Daniels came out, saying 'everyone has been so supportive' of him since coming out and praising his teammates for the way they accepted and helped him.

He was the first professional in British football to come out while still playing for over 30 years.

Last year Australian footballer Josh Cavallo came out and was for a time the only male professional footballer currently playing to be out as gay.

While the tweets were still up Cavallo took to social media to criticise Casillas and Puyol, saying they were 'joking and making fun' of people who came out in football.

He slated the pair as 'beyond disrespectful' for their tweets as they were such legends of the game and whatever they said would reverberate and impact on players yet to come out.

Whether it was a hacked account or poorly judged joke, the response from some corners of the internet to Casillas' first tweet show there's a long way to go towards tackling homophobia in football.

Here's hoping any players who were thinking about coming out won't be put off by the backlash from this whole incident.