But both other players and fans have heard it. The referees have not recorded it in the minutes because they have not heard it. But today my tears are of rage and helplessness because a fellow player wants to attack me I am VERY PROUD to be who I am and to be who I am. I hope the show your rejection of LGTBIphobia. It is unfortunate that these behaviors occur in sports venues and that they also go unpunished. Today sadly I have to tell you that I have suffered an episode of homophobia while competing. According to Gutiérrez, he and Ubovic exchanged words during the match and Ubovic replied, “shut up, maricon.” The word is a common Spanish gay slur that roughly translates to “faggot.”Īfter the match, Gutiérrez refused to shake Ubovic’s hand, causing the Serbian-born player to call him a maricon again, Gutiérrez, 30, said in a series of tweets. The incident occurred during a Spanish league match between Gutiérrez’s Terrassa team and Ubovic’s Sabadell team.
The player, Nemanja Ubovic, has been suspended pending an investigation, but he denies using the slur. Victor Gutiérrez, an openly gay Spanish water polo player who came out in 2016, says an opponent twice called him the Spanish word for “faggot” during a match a week ago.
