Life

Gay rugby player left with fractured eye socket after brutal homophobic attack

By Jordan Robledo

18th April 2022

Twitter
Twitter

Gay rugby player Evan Somers was targeted and brutally beaten by a group of homophobic men in Dublin, Ireland. 

Content warning: This story may include topics that could make some readers feel uncomfortable.

According to a report from the Sunday Independent, the violent incident occurred during the early hours of 10 April. 

After attending The George, a local queer nightclub, Somers was met with homophobic abuse from a lone man while walking on Dame Street.

The interaction escalated when the unidentified individual began to punch him – which prompted a group of men to join in on the attack.

A source told the publication that the attackers had previously assaulted another person 40 minutes before they approached Somers. 

Due to the severity of the incident, Somers was hospitalised with ankle fractures, a fractured eye socket and other minor injuries. 

“Last night a stranger called me a faggot before beating the shit out of me,” he wrote on Twitter hours after the attack. 

“He left me with a fractured eye socket, two fractures in my ankle, a dislocation in my ankle & some other minor injuries. We’ve come a long way but still have such a long way to go in terms of equality.”

In an additional interview with Lunchtime Live, Somers revealed that he was with his cousin and her partner at the time of the attack. 

“I was clearly, in the nicest way, the gay of the group. And it’s not something I try to hide,” he said.

Somers went on to say that the man “made a beeline” for him and immediately started to call him slurs that included the “baldy c-word.” 

After getting punched in the face, he then revealed that he went unconscious, stating, “And from there, to be honest, I don’t remember a lot.”  

Somer’s attack has since garnered the attention of Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, who condemned the incident during a recent Limerick City visit.

“I am utterly appalled by what happened, anybody who has seen the tweet and the pictures of what happened to this poor gentleman, it shouldn’t have happened,” she said via the Independent. 

“Whoever is responsible, we need to make sure the gardaí are allowed to carry out their work, and hopefully, somebody will be [apprehended].”

The recent homophobic attack has joined the growing number of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes taking place in the country. 

A couple of days after Somer was assaulted, Irish authorities in Sligo found Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee dead in their homes on 11 and 12 April, respectively.

After the tragic discovery, police arrested 22-year-old Yousef Palani in connection to their deaths. On 15 April, he was charged with their murders by a Sligo district court, per the BBC.

Palani’s next court appearance is set for 21 April via video link.