Christian Dobrick, 29, an under-19 coach at Bundesliga club FC St. Pauli, publicly came out as gay this week and used the opportunity to criticize attitudes toward homosexuality in men’s football.
Dobrick told German broadcaster RTL and news magazine Stern that gay men are “still treated like extraterrestrials” in professional men’s football. He said he suspects there are fewer gay men in the professional game than in the general population because “the pressure to lead a hetero‑normative life is so big that fewer gay footballers make it to the top because they have to use up their energy on problems which have nothing to do with sport.”
Despite campaigns from federations, clubs, fan groups and sports media to encourage tolerance, no active professional in Germany’s top three men’s leagues has ever come out as gay during their career. The situation is very different in women’s football, where sexual orientation has not been such a taboo.
Dobrick joined St. Pauli, based in Hamburg, in summer 2025 after coaching youth teams at TSG Hoffenheim and Holstein Kiel. He said the vocabulary used in and around men’s football has contributed to a general, subconscious homophobia: “If a player complains about too much physicality, he’s quickly labeled a puff. It’s hard to get rid of these insults and the warped image of gay men that they construe.”
For years he kept his sexual orientation secret for fear it would harm his chances of one day coaching at the first‑team level — perhaps even in the Bundesliga. “For a long time, I was uncertain whether I would be harming my career prospects by coming out,” he said. “But this game of hide-and-seek was costing me too much strength.”
Dobrick’s announcement was made independently of his employer, but FC St. Pauli — known for its tolerant stance and political activism — publicly backed him. Club president Oke Göttlich said the club stands fully behind its under-19 coach: “It’s simple and it applies to everyone: love whoever you want!”
An encounter with Jürgen Klopp helped influence Dobrick’s decision. Klopp reportedly told young coaches at an event in Salzburg: “As a coach, you can be whoever you want, but you have to stand for something, you have to be yourself.” Dobrick adopted that message as a work‑life motto and urged other gay players to “take the plunge into the cold water and swim!”
While no active male player has yet come out in German football, there are openly gay officials such as VfB Stuttgart chief executive Alexander Wehrle, and former Germany international Thomas Hitzlsperger came out in January 2014. After coming out, Dobrick thanked colleagues and followers on Instagram: “The same coach as I was yesterday. Now, full focus on the weekend against Dresden!”
Edited by: Wesley Dockery