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People in Spain are calling it the "promotion kiss."
The image? 28-year-old goalkeeper Alberto Lejárraga celebrating Marbella FC's title and promotion to Segunda RFEF (the Spanish fourth division) by embracing his boyfriend and smacking his lips for a very touching and iconic moment.
Lejárraga was not only happy for his club's success but also for coming out as gay, following in the footsteps of professional players like Australian Josh Cavallo and Czech Jakub Jankto.
The shot-stopper published the kiss photo with his boyfriend on his social media, alongside other images with his family, thanking all of them for their support through the campaign.
"Thank you so much for always being by my side through thick and thin. This time we were fortunate to live the beautiful side! Thanks!" he wrote.
Muchas gracias por estar siempre a mi lado, en las buenas y en las no tan buenas! Esta vez nos tocó vivir lo bonito de esto! GRACIAS ❤️ ❤️ pic.twitter.com/gwsvZQztDW
— Alberto Lejárraga (@alberto_leja) April 25, 2023
And people are loving the whole package: kiss, photo and message.
"Thanks for being brave, not hiding and being free," a Twitter user commented. "Bravo!! Thanks for making your love visibile in an environment where just a few pros have been brave enough to come out,'" said another.
I don't know if Lejárraga has been watching Ted Lasso Season 3 – spoiler alert on –, but his case reminded me of the moving conversation between AFC Richmond player Colin Hughes and Trent Crimm about how hard it is to be gay in professional sports and their wish to live their lives without being seen necessarily like a poster boy in their struggles.
"I don't want to be a spokesperson. I don't want a bunch of apologies. All I want is for when we win a match to be able to kiss my fella the same way that guys get to kiss their girls," Hughes says.
‼️ #tedlasso #tedlassospoilers‼️
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I will never recover from this scene! To have Colin feeling comfortable enough open up to someone with Trent sharing his own queer journey with him truly wrecked me and damn the acting man! + pic.twitter.com/4OBKnQT3CL— Gigi ted lasso spoilers (@littleweirdoss) April 19, 2023
And boy, Lejárraga just did that.
