23 November 2023 , 11:59
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Jake Daniels, England's only openly gay professional footballer, has accused Jordan Henderson of turning his back on him by moving to Saudi Arabia.
Henderson joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq in the summer transfer window from Liverpool. During his time at Anfield, the England international had been a vocal supporter of LGBT+ rights and the Rainbow Laces campaign.
But by signing for Ettifaq, he moved to a country where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by the death penalty. And Daniels has opened up on his frustration at seeing Henderson turn his back on the LGBT+ community by making his move.
Henderson had sent the Blackpool star a message of support after his coming out in May 2022. But Daniels believes that Henderson's move is a 'slap in the face' following that support.
"He was backing me and said: 'We're proud of what you've done.' Seeing him move to Saudi, it kind of like, slaps me in my face really. But I guess the money pays well, and money must mean more to people," Daniels told BBC Sport.
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Henderson's manager Steven Gerrard also messaged Daniels, but the striker has been left "frustrated" by the Reds icon's own move to Ettifaq. He added: "I met him in person and he said: 'If you ever want to get in contact then message me' - but he moved over."
Jack Daniels has hit out at Jordan Henderson for his move to Saudi ArabiaBack in September, Henderson told The Athletic that he understood the anger from the LGBT+ people. He also insisted that the accusations he had turned his back on the community hurt him.
But as Daniels' comments show, that anger has not diminished. In fact, the Blackpool striker is following in the path of England's LGBT+ fan group, Three Lions Pride, who slammed Henderson after his interview.
Speaking exclusively to Mirror Football in September, the group's chair Joe White said: "Having spoken to some of our members, there was a real sense of disappointment. I think it will possibly be more angry in these fixtures because of the interview that has just been released.
"That has wound people up more. If it was done as damage limitation or trying to restore any semblance of understanding, it has done the opposite. The issue with it is there are so many contradictions throughout what he's saying.
"That is the bit that has hurt people more than anything else. It's diminished what he's previously done. Jordan is the perfect example that unless you're affected by these issues, you don't really understand or comprehend the full extent of how this impacts.
"It's like with the tweet we put out yesterday where he comments when told about our protest that he was 'very hurt'. Well in Saudi Arabia, LGBT+ people's feelings are just hurt, they can be killed."