Viral anti-homophobia video

German football fans are taking a stand against homophobia. There are 33 members of the international supporters network 'Queer Football Fans' (QFF) and a former German international and Bundesliga player has publicly revealed that he is gay.

Now there is a song to show support for homosexual players in the sport. With almost 500,000 YouTube hits, Marcus Wiebusch's "Der Tag Wird Kommen" - "The day will come" in English - has been widely supported and appreciated on social media. Many professional clubs showed signs of support through YouTube's comments section under the film.

The supporting video, which lasts roughly around nine minutes, traces a gay footballer's troubles to be accepted by supporters and others in the game.

"I have been going to stadiums for 25 years, I'm a St. Pauli fan through-and-through and I have been a football fan for a very, very long time," Wiebusch explains to Kreiszeitung. "After a St. Pauli game, I got chatting to some very good sports journalists and then we somehow came to the topic of homosexuality and football."

"These sports journalists know the football scene well and knew of several gay professionals to report on and what a hell of life they lead," he continued, adding that there is still no environment for gay players to come out and be active players.

Homosexuality remains a taboo subject when it comes to sport, and especially football, which, above all, has preserved the connotations of macho and masculine sport. While openly homosexual stars have existed in other sports for some time, football remains a closed shop for homosexual players.

Hitzlsperger coming out

In January 2014, former German international player Thomas Hitzlsperger revealed publicly that he was gay. The 32-year-old midfielder expressed his homosexuality because he wanted to "further the discussion" about gay players in the sport.

But a follow up interview by DW's Guido Vogt with a gay player from the lower reaches of German football, suggested that the problem of homophobia in stadiums has got worse.

"The media had been giving positive reports but you have to differentiate between the media and the situation on the pitch," the former U19 Bundesliga who preferred to be named as just "Nico" said.

"As a homosexual player, I feel Hitzlsperger's coming out has encouraged the right-wing. Homophobia in the stands has got worse. In the last few weeks, homophobic chants could be heard in Bundesliga stadiums again. Coming out is far more difficult when you are insulted on the pitch."

Furthermore, Dirk Brüllau of QFF admitted that he felt "nothing had changed" in the wake of the Hitzlsperger announcement. This was echoed by the first German footballer to reveal he was gay in the 1990s, Marcus Urban, a former second division player with Rot-Weiß Erfurt.

"Definitely nothing has changed. But it's a start," Urban told DPA.

Beating Football's last taboo

In March, German champions Bayern Munich were forced to close one section of their stadium for a UEFA Champions League match after Europe's governing body said the punishment was for the displaying of an "illicit" banner.

Bayer Leverkusen also had an investigation opened against them after a league match at the end of last season. These are isolated incidents - but in the main, Germany's Ultras and ordinary match-going supporters express considerable support for homosexual football players.

Players of 1.FC Köln and Arminia Bielefeld wore t-shirts and held a banner saying "Queers win - gay passports don't exist" as part of a campaign against homophobia supported by the clubs and local authorities.

The German Football Association (DFB), meanwhile, has been firm on the issue for some time and has launched several campaigns, including "Nulldrei gegen homophobie" - Nil-three against homophobia - and has issued 26,000 copies of its dossier to tackling the issue.

"It is the clear position of the DFB that any person who wants to openly reveal their homosexuality, can count on the support of our association," DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach said.

Unlike in many other European countries, Germany seems to be making progressive steps towards creating an inclusive football environment for players of different races, religions and sexualities. But as of yet, the void of gay footballers still active in the sport remains open and the taboo lingers around becoming that first openly homosexual player.

Nobody will know, however, what that will be like until the day really does come.