Former Blue Martijn Reuser will be amongst a number of high profile Dutch players on a boat at Gay Pride in Amsterdam next Saturday. The Dutch FA, the KNVB, has organised the boat which will take part in the annual parade along Amsterdam’s canals for the first time in support of gay acceptance within Dutch football.
Reuser told TWTD why he and the other players will be on board: "We were called last week and they asked us if we wanted to make a statement and join in on the Dutch FA boat.
"The most prominent man on the boat is Louis Van Gaal, the head coach of the Dutch national team.
"I think Pierre Van Hooijdonk and Patrick Kluivert will also be there and I’m joining in as well because I don’t mind if you are gay or lesbian or whatever. As long as you respect each other, what’s the deal?”
Amongst the other players on the boat will be Ronald de Boer, Aron Winter, Regi Blinker, Bryan Roy and Michael Mols.
With only a couple of openly gay players throughout world football, most notably ex-Leeds man Robbie Rogers, who is now with MLS side the LA Galaxy, Reuser says he’s never knowingly played alongside a gay team-mate: "To be honest, I’ve played with a lot of football players and I’ve never played with a gay colleague or at least not someone I know of or had any suspicions about.
"Maybe it’s because if you are in the dressing room you make a lot of jokes about women and subjects like that that maybe it’s difficult to come out of the closet.”
Despite this, he doesn’t believe the majority of players would have an issue with gay team-mates: "I don’t think so. I will be on the boat because I don’t have any problem with it and hopefully that makes people aware, or football players aware, that no matter who you are, black, white or gay, you’re one of the guys, and I want show that to Holland and to the world.”
Reuser, 38, retired from playing three years ago and passed his UEFA B Licence earlier this year. Last Monday, in addition to work with Dutch TV, he started his coaching career at his final club NAC Breda, taking charge of their U12s.
In December, Reuser spoke to TWTD's Ex-Files series.