Japanese pro soccer player Riku Matsuda denies he appeared in two gay porn videos shot when he was in college. Internet sleuths — comparing stills of him playing with those in the videos — say it is him.
The two videos, translated from Japanese, are called "At Last After Negotiating for 6 months the Active Duty Rugby Man Gave In!!" and "Beast Premium Disc 097" and feature an actor called Takeyama Shotaro, said to be Matsuda's stage name. The website Queerclick has a NSFW detailed breakdown that it says shows striking similarities between the actor in the videos and Matsuda.
The Japanese entertainment site Arama Japan carried this denial from Matsuda:
Matsuda has taken to Twitter to defend himself against these allegations. He says that he is not the man in the videos and that this is slander. He has apologized to his team and those who know and support him for these rumors. He vows to carry on as a footballer, with dignity, in light of this scandal.
If Matsuda is indeed in the videos, he would not be the first athlete to go gay for pay. In 2009, two college wrestlers made news after they appeared on the gay porn site Fratmen. An Irish Gaelic football player appeared in three films, one called "Wank." Porn star Colby Jansen has also played pro rugby and is proud of both professions. Ultimate Fighter Dakota Cochrane did gay porn for Sean Cody. A Belgian former pro soccer player has transitioned into a gay porn star.