Britain's first openly gay rugby league star has said he believes Football Association chairman Greg Clarke has a "negative" approach to the possibility of gay footballers coming out.
Keegan Hirst, who plays for Super League side Wakefield, was responding to Clarke's comments -- made to a Department for Culture, Media and Sport select committee -- that a Premier League player coming out would face "significant abuse'' from supporters.
Clarke said he would be "cautious'' about advising a player to do so until anti-gay abuse could be stamped out.
Hirst told the BBC: "What he said was that he didn't think it was the right time for a footballer to come out -- which begs the question, when is the right time?
"Eventually someone is going to take the plunge, and I think there are lots of things in place for footballers to get the support they need from the club, supporters' bodies and social media.
"So what he is saying is pretty negative and a bit old-fashioned. Maybe if he got out on terraces a bit more and saw what was really going on, he wouldn't make comments like that."
Clarke had told the committee he "would be amazed'' if there were not a gay player in the Premier League and felt "ashamed'' that nobody had been confident enough to publicly reveal their sexuality.
An online poll of more than 4,000 people across England, Wales and Scotland, conducted by a research company on behalf of BBC Radio 5 live this month, found 82 percent of football fans would not have a problem with an openly gay player at their club.
However, eight percent said they would not watch their team if there was an openly gay player in it.
The survey also reported that 61 percent of football fans felt gay players should come out in order to help others do the same, while 71 percent felt clubs should do more to educate supporters about anti-gay attitudes.