Premier League star probed for liking anti-LGBTQ video – Bild
German police have launched a probe into a Premier League soccer star over allegations he liked an AI video depicting violence at a gay pride parade, Bild has reported.
The video reportedly shows a car crashing into a crowd at a pride march, accompanied by text referencing a game scenario in Grand Theft Auto 6.
An openly bisexual football referee and content creator, Pascal Kaiser, has filed charges of incitement of hatred against the video creators and Fulham and former Germany goalkeeper Bernd Leno for liking it, the outlet reported last week.
“It is enough that such disgusting videos are circulating. The fact that someone like Leno spreads them by liking and thus drawing attention to them is, in my opinion, a further scandal,” Pascal claimed.
Screenshots show Leno’s verified Instagram account, which has around 810,000 followers, registering a “Like” for the video. He later removed the like before the clip was deleted from the platform.
According to the outlet, Kaiser first reached out to Leno in a private message, asking why a national player would like such content, but reports indicate Leno blocked him instead.
He then encouraged supporters to post rainbow flag emojis on Leno’s feed. The goalkeeper reportedly disabled comments in response.
“We can confirm the complaint in this case and that State Security has taken over the investigation,” a police spokesperson told Bild.
Leno’s agency, fair-sport GmbH, issued a statement via the outlet, saying: “Bernd is a cosmopolitan person. He distances himself from the video, which he never knowingly liked. He will hire a lawyer and request access to the files.”
Leno, 33, currently plays for Fulham in the English premier league and earned nine caps for Germany, most recently appearing against Liechtenstein in 2021.
