Jakub Jankto breaks another wall. The Cagliari midfielder, the only Serie A player to have publicly revealed his homosexuality, the second professional in the world to do so after Josh Cavallo (who plays in Australia), posts a photo on Instagram in which he kisses his teammate Vojtech Stulik , also Czech.
"We wish you a Merry Christmas." This is the caption, accompanied by the tree emoticon, of the photo that went viral and went around the world . A message of free love and inclusion.
Jankto, who has a daughter with model Marketa Ottomanska, had made his homosexuality known in a video on social media at the beginning of 2023 and last April, interviewed by “France Football”, he had invited his colleagues to do the same. «There are other homosexuals in the world of football» .
Strongly wanted by Ranieri, he was welcomed very well in Cagliari. And there were no chants against him in the stadiums. Another thing is his performance, decidedly inconsistent also due to injuries that did not allow him to perform as he had done at Sampdoria, where he was trained by Sir Claudio and had done very well, so much so as to push the Roman coach to ask Tommaso Giulini for him. Last year he scored a decisive goal with Empoli and made two assists. This year, also due to injuries, he has never played .
His Christmas message has also sparked reactions in the world of politics: "Homophobia is a common enemy and it is especially so in the world of sports. Cagliari footballer Jantko has rightly claimed his freedom and kicked homophobia ," commented the deputy group leader of FdI in the Chamber, Alfredo Antoniozzi . "We can be divided on many things and we have a specific and clear position with respect to those who would like to spread an LGBT culture," continued Antoniozzi, "but this has nothing to do with the homophobia that we deny and reject. Jantko's message is important above all for many, too many, young people who are victims of shameful acts of bullying because of their sexual orientation ."
