Former England striker John Fashanu has admitted that he once bribed his brother Justin in a bid to prevent him from coming out as gay.

In 1990, Justin became the first English professional footballer to come out following an interview with The Sun, before committing suicide eight years later at the age of 37.

Nevertheless, 53-year-old John says that he paid for his brother's silence - for a reported £75,000 - in an effort to protect his family, claiming that such an "abomination" would not have been accepted at the time.

"I begged him, I threatened him, I did everything I could possibly do to try and stop him coming out," the former Wimbledon forward is quoted as saying by The Mirror. "I gave him the money because I didn't want the embarrassment for me or my family. Had he come out now, it would be a different ball game.

"There wouldn't be an issue, but there was then. Things are different now. Now he'd be hailed a hero. I'll never forget when Justin first told me. He called me in the evening time and said to me: 'I'm gay'. Then he said to me: 'I'm planning to go to a newspaper'. I said to him: 'Oh heavens forbid... oh my God. We don't need that. You're mad'.

"He promised when I gave him the money he would not go out and say that. Two days later... bang... headlines in a newspaper. I looked like a sucker. For me and my family it was like Hiroshima or Nagasaki on our lives. It knocked us dead, it was a total shock. People might not like it, but I was trying to protect my family. You've got to remember the public's perception of homosexuality at that time was that it was an abomination. It was taboo. Street boys were beating up gays in nightclubs."

Speculation is rife that two Premier League players - including one England international - are planning to come out in the near future.

Last week, Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw denied that he was one of the two players in question.