‘It’s not normal’: Ukraine footballer Besedin says gay people shouldn’t exist in staggering homophobic remarks

Ukraine and Dynamo Kiev forward Artem Besedin has said there should be no people with “non-traditional” sexual orientation and says he can’t even look at gay couples in shocking comments on a YouTube channel.

Besedin, 25, has been capped 19 times for his country and was in action for Ukraine at Euro 2020 during the summer before his tournament was cut short with a serious knee injury.

Besedin spoke to YouTube channel 'From Soul to Soul' as he continues his recovery, but ended up embarking on a tirade when he was asked if he supported gay parades.

"Of course not," replied Besedin.

"First of all, it’s not normal… In principle, there shouldn’t be people with a non-traditional sexual orientation.

"There are boys and there are girls. That’s it."

The footballer added: "I was recovering [from my injury] in Spain. We have things [in moderation] in that regard, but there are lots of them [gay people] in Spain.

"Their clubs, their flags, walking around, holding hands. I can’t look at it…

"I have a son, I don’t want him to grow up and look at [gays]," said Besedin as he continued his homophobic rant.

The shocking comments come after former Ukraine player Bohdan Butko claimed the world was heading in an "incomprehensible" direction because of same-sex relationships, and that he "doesn’t accept gays".

It remains to be seen if Besedin is sanctioned for his comments, with UEFA taking a very public stance on respect for gay rights and minorities.

Besedin's comments come at a time when the topic of social equality is at the forefront of global football.

For much of the past two years, several major football leagues have seen players take a knee prior to kick-off in a bid to highlight the dangers of discrimination and unequal rights.

It also comes just days after Australian footballer Josh Cavallo became the first-ever top flight professional male player to reveal that he was gay, earning plaudits from some of the sport's biggest names along the way. 

And nor was Besedin's anti-gay stance met kindly from some sections of the social media masses.

"Phobia is fear," wrote one responder online.

"Why should someone be afraid of or detest people of a different orientation?" added another.

"In general the entire football community has a huge problem with homophobia. I hope that will change soon," said a third, via translation.