Justin Fashanu

Justin Fashanu

Some of you will remember Justin Fashanu turning out for Miramar Rangers in 1996/7. (Not to be confused with his brother, John, he was there in 1982.)

He is best known in England, where I live, as the first black player to cost �1million; the only professional footballer to come out as gay, which he did in 1990; and for committing suicide in 1998.

I�m looking for some information about his time in New Zealand both on and off the pitch. I�m curious to know what sort of crowds Miramar were getting then and how good he seemed playing at that level. Also, was it known that he was gay and did he get any stick for it? He certainly did from opposition supporters in England and Scotland. Any other memories and anecdotes I�d be most interested to hear. Can anyone confirm that made 18 appearances and scored 12 goals?

I don't know about his time in NZ as I've only been here for 6 years, but he was quite popular in Italy. in particular, he used to feature quite a lot in a tv show called "mai dire goal" (never say goal). they even went to interview him in england. no gay jokes as far as I remember. they just took the mickey as he was quite poor. bless him.

There was loads of publicity when he came to NZ from newspapers and TV. I believe he was known more for being a black footballer and for being gay than for anything he did on the field. Don't recall him doing much in the games I saw him apart from holding the ball up and laying off.

It was well known that he was gay when he played here I think. I watched him as a kid and didnt really know or care about his sexuality. But he was a top guy for the club to have. He ran junior club coaching clinics with a guy called Mickey Burns who was also English. They were brilliant for young players. He was definitely a platform striker but wasnt as aggressive as his brother John from what I hear. If you get hold the Miramar Centenary book (came out in 07) it will have his stats as accurate as you will find them.

Awesome man though, had a big impact on the club and left good memories. Word up Fash!

I've sent you a PM.

I watched him score an absolutely fantastic volley in one of his games for Miramar at Newtown Park - reminiscent of the goal he scored (against Perennial strugglers Liverpool?) when he was making a name for himself in England as a youngster.  He was pretty heavyset and slow when over here, but was a good target man, had a good lay off, and the odd really classy touch that set him apart from the average player.  Pretty useful with his elbows too! 12 goals in 18 matches seems a bit more than I remember - but maybe that is right.