Gay MP feared how football fans would treat him after coming out

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Devoted Sheffield Wednesday fan Clive Betts says the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive

Clive Betts has admitted that not all football fans are "the most polite" in their chants (

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A gay Labor MP has admitted he fears how football fans will treat him after he comes out.

But dedicated Sheffield Wednesday fan Clive Betts said the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.

Mr. Betts, who was MP for Sheffield South for more than 30 years, said a fan also personally apologized to him for the homophobic chanting.

In an interview with GB News, which will air on Sunday, Mr Betts said that sometimes fans are "not always the most polite" in the comments they make in their chants.

"I attended my first away game after arriving at Leicester, where I went to see Sheffield Wednesday play.

"Fans came up to me and said, 'It's great to see you again, you're still the same football fan as before.' approach."

He continued: "Most remarkably, I've been to Brighton, and sometimes you get a rude comment or two from away fans in Brighton with Sheffield Wednesday fans.

"Someone came up to me at halftime and was like, 'Oh, I did some homophobic chanting. I suddenly realized you were there. It wasn't for you, it was wrong. And I came to apologize."

Avid football fan Clive takes part in an MPs vs Journalists game (

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DailyMirror)

Mr. Betts also opened up about his decision to come out saying it was "the best decision he ever made".

He came out about his sexuality in 2003, following a newspaper sting that revealed he had employed a Brazilian man in his office who had previously worked as an escort.

"I knew I was gay for ages," he told host Gloria De Peiro.

"When I came out, a lot of friends were like, 'Oh, why did you just say that now? We all knew you were.' You live in a little cocoon of your own. When I grew up in Sheffield people didn't go out, there was hardly any gay scene, it was hardly talked about."

He added, "You know, if people were talking about it, they were often pretty disparate...