Former rugby referee Nigel Owens has expressed his hurt after receiving a vile homophobic letter in the post.
The Welshman, who holds the record for refereeing the most test matches, came out as gay in 2007 and admitted he had previously tried to kill himself as he came to terms with his sexuality.
Owens, 51, retired from rugby last year and is now focused on his life on his farm in Wales.
He took to social media to share a handwritten letter he received in the post, signed by a 'Steel Worker PT', that also references rugby legend Gareth Thomas.
Owens admitted he was unsure on whether to share the vile letter, but added: "Unless we start calling out these kind of people nothing will change. It hurts and there is no need for all this hate."
The letter read: "The bible says 'man shall not lie with man nor woman with woman, it's an abomination. Nor should men dress in women's clothing, nor women with men's'.
"What do you think AIDS is? It is God's punishment to the Sodomites. Forget that people pretend to accept you because they don't.
"The same goes for Gareth Thomas. His teammates think he is disgusting. He too is being punished by God. Only a Queer would buy a Korean car. You should be ashamed.
"Yours, Steel Worker PT."
Welsh legend Thomas came out as gay in 2009, becoming the first professional rugby union player to do so. He announced in 2019 that he was HIV positive and has continued to attempt to break the stigma around the disease.
He replied to Owens, suggesting he had also received hate mail from the individual. Thomas wrote: "He’s a serial writer butt, he writes those kinds of letters to everyone, good on you for calling him out."
Owens revealed earlier this week that he had been banned by Facebook for sharing a homophobic message he had received.
