Footballers Unfiltered – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode we explore match-fixing and the threat it poses to open and fair competition today. To do this, Joe Hart is joined by Samir Arab. Samir plays as a defender for Maltese club Balzan. In 2016, Samir met a former teammate in a cafe and a chat over a coffee led to Samir being banned from football for two years. 

Did you know that 1 in 10 of footballers today will be approached in their careers to fix a match, or part of a match, for the benefit of others. There are many ways in which match-fixing is being tackled, and in this show we look at what match-fixing is, and explore how simple it can be for a player to be mixed up in it. We then look at the work which FIFPRO have undertaken to create a ‘red button’ app where players can anonymously report any approach to fix a match.

In 2016, a former team-mate of Arab’s met him in a café and tried to convince the defender to manipulate a Malta U-21 game by losing each half by one goal in return for thousands of euros. Arab refused – the game finished 1-0 and Arab was praised by his coach for his performance – and he later cooperated with police investigations, despite fearing repercussions from criminal gangs, which led to court convictions for the perpetrators. 

However, football authorities hit Arab with a two-year ban as he did not immediately inform them about the match-fixing approach. 

Joining both Samir and Joe is Roy Vermeer. Roy is the legal director at FIFPRO and personally represented Samir as his case was heard. Roy talks about the significance of the Red Button app  and results he’s seen since the implementation and shares with us other cases in world football. 

This show contains references to suicidal thoughts and mental health struggles. 

If you are affected by what you hear, we encourage you to seek help at these places.

Samaritans International

https://samaritanshope.org/resources/international-help/ 

Mental health support

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/seeking-help-for-a-mental-health-problem/where-to-start/

This episode is uniquely available to watch as a video on Spotify. 

To discover more about FIFPRO and their 60th anniversary, visit:

Follow for more on X:https://x.com/FIFPro?mx=2

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/fifpro/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/FIFPRO/ 

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/fifpro/posts/?feedView=all

YouTube::https://www.youtube.com/user/FIFProTV/videos

TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@fifpro 

This is a podcast made by Message Heard for FIFPRO.

For the first episode in the series, Joe Hart is joined by Juventus and Italy legend Giorgio Chiellini to discuss life beyond football. 

During his trophy-laden career, Giorgio attended university in his early twenties to study business administration. Even today he recalls the experience fondly, “what I didn’t expect was that my journey at university was also really useful for my sports performances. It was a way in which I was able to open my mind, be focused and train the brain in a different way”. 

The chat with Giorgio highlights the importance of why players today should be thinking about their life after football, with some key advice and personal antidotes from both Joe and Giorgio who both have taken the leap into a second life recently. 

Joe and Giorgio also talk about some key moments in the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy, and whether his interaction with Harry Kane just before the championship-deciding penalty shootout was gamesmanship. 

Joining both Joe and Giorgio is Chris Higgins. Chris himself is a former player in Scotland and made over 560 senior appearances. Since retiring he has become the Personal Development Manager at PFA Scotland.

Chris shares the observations he sees with footballers today thinking about life after football. He talks about how PFA Scotland provides training for all manner of jobs and industries, even including being a professional barista. 

For more on PFA Scotland and the initiatives they run, visit https://pfascotland.co.uk/education/

This episode is uniquely available to watch as a video on Spotify. 

To discover more about FIFPRO and their 60th anniversary, visit:

Follow for more on X: https://x.com/FIFPro?mx=2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fifpro/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FIFPRO/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fifpro/posts/?feedView=all

YouTube:: https://www.youtube.com/user/FIFProTV/videos

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fifpro 

Footballers Unfiltered is a Message Heard production for FIFPRO.

Join ex-England and Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart for Footballers Unfiltered. This series, brought to you by FIFPRO, is a project which explores what life as a professional footballer is really like. 

With a new episode each month through 2025, expect topics that explore both the men’s and women’s game, highlighting player stories and challenges which many people don’t see, and shining a light on how player unions are tackling these issues.

Australian midfielder Josh Cavallo is the guest for this episode of Footballers Unfiltered with Joe Hart, reflecting on the last four years since coming out publicly as gay in professional men’s football. At the time in October 2021, Cavallo, then 21, was the only current openly gay male top-flight professional footballer. He made the announcement in a video and open letter on social media.

Josh tells Joe candidly about the moment he first told his coaches “it felt like 15 kilos of weight had been lifted off my shoulders” and he went on to having the best training session. He explained why he decided to let the world know “I got to a point in my life where I wanted to live authentically; I felt quite stuck and it did affect my mental health quite a lot. Looking back, it was the best move and decision I've ever made”.

In 2025 FIFA estimates there are around 130,000 professional football players in the men’s game, yet there are only a few current active players who have come out publicly, such as Jake Daniels and Jakub Jankto. It raises questions about how men’s football can be more inclusive to create a supportive environment where gay players feel comfortable about being open with their sexual orientation. 

In the episode, Joe Hart acknowledged that “men's football still has a long way to go before everyone truly feels included, as well as represented in the sport”. The former England international said: “I've been around football for a long, long time. Conversations about sexuality, gay players being in the dress room, it's always been a hot topic, something that the media seemed to drive a lot more than players, if I'm being brutally honest, but it felt like it was always there. It felt like a huge relief when [Josh] stepped up in 2021 and was just honest.”Joe said “I look in dressing rooms now and towards the end of my career, I was lucky enough to realise that just being yourself and being honest was such an empowering thing.”

FIFPRO’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Manager Erica Puppo, who joined Cavallo and Hart for the episode, said: “I think now, with stories like Josh, there's more and more awareness that these conversations need to happen, and they need to happen within a men's football context as well”. 

This show contains references to LGBTQIA+ mental health struggles. 

If you are affected by what you hear, we encourage you to seek help in the following ways: 

• Check with your GP and for national hotlines

• Talk to a trained therapist/mental health professional and check therapy services specialised in LGBTQIA+ individuals

• Check online resources available in your language

To discover more about FIFPRO and their 60th anniversary, visit:

Follow for more on X: https://x.com/FIFPro?mx=2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fifpro/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FIFPRO/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fifpro/posts/?feedView=all

YouTube:: https://www.youtube.com/user/FIFProTV/videos

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fifpro 

This is a podcast made by Message Heard for FIFPRO.

Host: Joe Hart

Executive Producer: Sandra Ferrari

Producer: Mark Kendrick

Production Coordinator: Kirsty McLean 

Videographer and editor: Ethan Judd

Audio and mix Engineer: Lizzy Andrews

Football’s relationship with food is the focus for this episode of Footballers Unfiltered with Joe Hart. This is because, in 2024, FIFPRO revealed that one-in-five women's players experienced disordered eating over a 12-month period, according to a survey of footballers participating in a study tracking their health. 

Disordered eating is an unhealthy relationship with food which covers many behaviours such as restricting food intake and excessive exercising. Some thoughts, behaviours and attitudes will overlap with eating disorders, but that term is reserved for those experiences which have received clinical diagnosis.

Molly Bartrip, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur as a defender, joins Joe to talk about how she came to realise the hard way that food is her fuel. Molly says “every pre-match I have pasta, regardless if it's 12 o'clock kick-off. Before I would have like a slice of toast maybe in the evening before a game, then I had that reality check that I was not performing and going to get dropped”.

Molly talks candidly with Joe about her battle with anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety. It started at 14 years of age after an injury set-back when on international duty with England, at a time when she was playing for Arsenal’s youth sides. “For some reason my mind just had a switch. I didn’t feel good enough. I had no control over England selection, Arsenal selection, but I had control of what I was putting in my body. I'm just not going to eat,”

Now 28, Molly has over 10 years’ experience playing in England’s Women’s Super League, having represented Reading before moving to current club Spurs in July 2021. She talks openly about mental health and says “We put so much emphasis on injuries in football, but why do we not for the mental side of the game? I do think there's a long way to go, but we’re getting there. 

Both Joe and Molly are joined by Dr Alex Culvin, a former player with AZ Alkmaar, Everton, Leeds United and Liverpool, and now FIFPRO’s Director of Global Policy and Strategic Relations for Women’s Football. As part of Alex’s PHD research in 2019, she investigated the health effects on WSL players after England's top-flight became professionalised and found evidence of fat shaming and eating disorders amongst players. 

Alex says "In the women's game, where we have this acceleration of professionalisation in some parts of the world, we can't forget the key components that enable players to perform and feel like they can thrive as a human being; nutrition, mental health support and psychologists are fundamental to resource the game properly and ensure that we have players who feel supported."

If you are affected by what you hear, we encourage you to seek help in the following ways: 

• Check with your GP and for national hotlines

• Talk to a trained therapist/mental health professional and check therapy services specialised in eating disorders for individuals

• Check online resources available in your language

  
  

To discover more about FIFPRO and their 60th anniversary, visit:

Follow for more on X: https://x.com/FIFPro?mx=2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fifpro/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FIFPRO/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fifpro/posts/?feedView=all

YouTube:: https://www.youtube.com/user/FIFProTV/videos
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fifpro 

This is a podcast made by Message Heard for FIFPRO.

Host: Joe Hart

Executive Producer: Sandra Ferrari

Producer: Mark Kendrick

Production Coordinator: Kirsty McLean 

Videographer and editor: Ethan Judd

Audio and Mix Engineer: Lizzy Andrews

Starting a family whilst being an active professional footballer is the focus for this episode of Footballers Unfiltered with Joe Hart. We discuss the rigours and demands of what football brings with training and match day, alongside trying to be the version of yourself for your club and teammates. 

In 2017, FIFPRO issued a global report on employment within football that revealed only 2% percent of female players were mothers and that 47% of women footballers had retired early from the game to start a family.

Joining Joe is Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir. Sara is a two time champions league winner and former Iceland international, who is currently a player at Al Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia. Sara gave us a glimpse into discussions among women footballers at the time. “We women, we speak about family joking around in a way, being like, “Oh, when are you going to have a baby at 40, after your career, or are you going to sacrifice your career?”

In order to stop players retiring early, FIFPRO then created maternity regulations, which were later implemented into the game by FIFA in 2021. 

Sara then made history in 2022 by becoming the first player to win a claim against a club through the FIFA Maternity Regulations. The regulations entitled Sara to full payment throughout her pregnancy and until the start of her maternity leave when at former club Olympique Lyonnais.

Sara’s case demonstrated how important it is to regulate minimums and not leave them to the goodwill of parties, even high-profile football clubs. Sara said “It made it very clear for women today that they don't have to choose [between motherhood and football] and they don't have to sacrifice – and that makes me very happy,”. Joe Hart added “Sara’s story helps create awareness of the protections and help pave the way for others,”

Joining both Sara and Joe is Alexandra Gómez Bruinewoud, the Legal Director at FIFPRO.  Alexandra said “We looked internationally to see if there was any sport that had regulated maternity at international level, and that was not the case,”. Talking candidly, Alexandra tells Joe how she “initiated the discussions with FIFA and other stakeholders, and fought to optimise the protective regulations, to enable women to combine being a parent with their football career.” 

FIFA then incorporated new regulations about working conditions for professional women footballers with an emphasis on maternity rights on 1 June 2024. 

In the same year, FIFPRO launched the Postpartum Return to Play Guide to help professional footballers better understand and manage pregnancy and the phase after childbirth. Sara was part of the taskforce of professional women’s players who developed the guide.

To discover more about FIFPRO and their 60th anniversary, visit:

Follow for more on X: https://x.com/FIFPro?mx=2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fifpro/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FIFPRO/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fifpro/posts/?feedView=all

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/FIFProTV/videos
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fifpro 

This is a podcast made by Message Heard for FIFPRO.

Host: Joe Hart

Executive Producer: Sandra Ferrari

Producer: Mark Kendrick

Production Coordinator: Kirsty McLean 

Videographer and editor: Ethan Judd

Audio and Mix Engineer: Lizzy Andrews

Footballers Unfiltered with Joe Hart returns for Season 2 with a powerful conversation about leadership, identity, and activism in the modern game, told through the lens of Australian international and FC St. Pauli captain, Jackson Irvine.

A standout midfielder in the Bundesliga, Jackson is also vice-captain of the Socceroos and co-president of Professional Footballers Australia - making him a leading voice on and off the pitch. He speaks openly about his passions beyond football, including politics, fashion, and music, and how they’ve shaped both his game and his mission to represent players.

Joe and Jackson swap World Cup memories, from Jackson’s experiences as a fan and player to facing Mbappé and Messi in 2022. With Australia already qualified for 2026, he hopes to make it three tournaments and counting.

They’re joined for this episode by Shoko Tsuji, General Secretary of FIFPRO Asia/Oceania, who sheds light on the unique challenges players face across the region. This includes anti-union sentiment to extreme travel demands and online abuse.

Together, they discuss:

• Balancing football with leadership in global and national unions

• How dressing rooms have shifted to embrace individuality and self-expression

• The need for better mental health support and post-career planning

• What it’s like leading the Socceroos and going toe-to-toe with Messi

• Why more players need a seat at the table in shaping football’s future

This episode is a reminder that footballers are more than athletes; they’re people, leaders, and changemakers. And Jackson Irvine is helping define what the future of the game can be.

To discover more about FIFPRO and their 60th anniversary, visit:

Follow for more on X: https://x.com/FIFPro?mx=2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fifpro/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FIFPRO/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fifpro/posts/?feedView=all

YouTube:: https://www.youtube.com/user/FIFProTV/videos

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fifpro 

This is a podcast made by Message Heard for FIFPRO.

Host: Joe Hart

Producer: Mark Kendrick

Production Coordinator: Kirsty McLean 

Videographer and editor: Ethan Judd

Sound Editor: Lizzy Andrews

In this episode of Footballers Unfiltered with Joe Hart, Leon Balogun joins Joe for a candid conversation about player safety, abuse, and the realities of modern football.

Joe and Leon previously faced each other in Celtic vs Rangers, one of football’s most intense fixtures. Reflecting on that environment, Leon explains what it takes to survive at clubs defined by expectation and emotion — and how passion, when unchecked, can cross the line into abuse. Those experiences form the backdrop to a wider discussion about where responsibility lies in protecting players.

A Nigeria international who played at the 2018 World Cup, Leon reflects on the highs and heartbreak of the tournament, including the match against Argentina, where a late goal ended Nigeria’s hopes. His club career has taken him through Germany, England, Scotland and now Cyprus, and across those environments he has seen how constant scrutiny, entitlement and pressure shape a player’s working life.

Drawing on FIFPRO’s Workplace Safety Report, Leon speaks openly about the normalisation of abuse and how football has become a 24-hour workplace. He explains that “there’s been a level of entitlement that’s crept into football, and it’s become unhealthy,” blurring the boundaries between passion and abuse. Over time, Leon says that pressure can take a personal toll “you start to question yourself, your ability, and everything you’ve worked for.”

Joe is joined by Gotcha Michel, Deputy Chief Executive of the Indonesian Players Association (APPI), who offers a global perspective on player safety. Gotcha explains how unions in Indonesia are responding to online abuse, including restorative approaches that focus on education, accountability and long-term cultural change.

Together, Joe, Leon and Gotcha explore what it truly means to treat the football pitch, and the digital spaces around it, as a workplace, and why responsibility for safety must be shared across players, unions, media, clubs and supporters.

This episode highlights Leon Balogun as a thoughtful and credible voice calling for respect, protection and progress, showing how football can remain passionate without putting its players at risk.

Together they discuss:

• Why player safety must be treated as a workplace issue

• Celtic vs Rangers and football’s most intense environments

• How passion and fan culture can cross the line into abuse

• The impact of constant scrutiny on players’ mental health

• How player unions are responding to online abuse worldwide

To discover more about FIFPRO and their 60th anniversary, visit:

X: https://x.com/FIFPRO

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fifpro/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FIFPRO/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fifpro/posts/?feedView=all

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/FIFProTV/videos

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fifpro

This is a podcast made by Message Heard for FIFPRO.

Host: Joe Hart

Guests: Leon Balogun; Gotcha Michel (Deputy Chief Executive, APPI)

Producer: Mark Kendrick

Production Coordinator: Kirsty McLean

Videographer: Sam Hockley

Editor: Nani Wenani

Sound Editor: Lizzy Andrews

In this episode of Footballers Unfiltered with Joe Hart, Marshall Munetsi — Zimbabwe international and Wolves midfielder — charts his journey from Harare to the Premier League, and the purpose that drives him beyond football.

A voice for change on and off the pitch, Marshall helped lift the FIFA ban on Zimbabwe’s national team and funds education through the Marshall Munetsi Foundation. Speaking about the rise of fake agents, he is clear-eyed: “It’s a pandemic in Africa now. It’s more than a crisis.” He explains how awareness, due diligence, and stronger player unions can protect young footballers and their families.

Joe and Marshall share their pride in representing their nations, reflect on balancing club football with long international travel, and discuss how leadership can start with responsibility.

To put Marshall’s story in context, Joe is joined by Kgosana Masaseng, Secretary General of FIFPRO Africa, who explores the realities of African players striving to reach Europe — and how expanding unions are giving them a stronger collective voice.

Together, they discuss:

• Protecting players from fake agents and misinformation

• How unions in Africa are building standards and support

• The human impact of federation bans — and how players fought back

• Football as a vehicle for education, opportunity and dignity

• The realities of representing your country while playing in Europe

This episode shows how a modern footballer can be a competitor, connector, and catalyst for change — and how Marshall Munetsi is helping shape a safer, fairer game for the next generation.

To discover more about FIFPRO and their 60th anniversary, visit:

X: https://x.com/FIFPro

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fifpro/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FIFPRO/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fifpro/posts/?feedView=all

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/FIFProTV/videos

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fifpro

This is a podcast made by Message Heard for FIFPRO.Host: Joe HartGuests: Marshall Munetsi; Kgosana Masaseng (Secretary General, FIFPRO Africa)Producer: Mark KendrickProduction Coordinator: Kirsty McLeanVideographer & Editor: Ethan JuddSound Editor: Lizzy Andrews

In this episode of Footballers Unfiltered with Joe Hart, England and Chelsea right-back Lucy Bronze opens up about her role as both a player and a powerful advocate for change in the women’s game.A member of FIFPRO’s Global Player Council and the PFA players’ board, Lucy has been at the table for England contract talks and global discussions on issues like the match calendar, welfare, and financial security. She explains why players’ voices must be central to shaping football’s future: “Sometimes the people making decisions don’t have those lived experiences. I feel a responsibility to share mine, because I’ve been given the platform that so many others haven’t.”

Beyond her advocacy, Lucy is one of the most decorated players in football. A five-time UEFA Women’s Champions League winner, a serial league champion, and a double European champion with England, she reflects on the rapid professionalisation of the women’s game — from part-time contracts and side jobs to sold-out stadiums. She also revisits her headline-making “99%” comments on financial security, and why speaking out matters.

Joe and Lucy relive the drama of Euro 2025, from the nerve of penalty shootouts to the resilience that carried the Lionesses to a historic title defence. They also look ahead to the one trophy missing from her collection: the Women’s World Cup, where Lucy has already finished fourth, third, and second across three tournaments.

They’re joined by Victoria Williams, Player Services Executive at the PFA, who reflects on her own playing career and why helping footballers prepare for life after the game is more urgent than ever.

Together, they discuss:

• Why advocacy and lived experience must drive decisions in football

• The reality behind the rise: early-career pay, pathways and professionalism

• Leadership and resilience inside England’s Euro-winning squads

• Lucy’s next target: adding a World Cup to her career of medals

This episode shows that footballers are not just champions on the pitch — they’re also leaders shaping the game’s future. And Lucy Bronze is helping set that standard.

To discover more about FIFPRO and their 60th anniversary, visit:Follow for more on X: https://x.com/FIFPro?mx=2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fifpro/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FIFPRO/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fifpro/posts/?feedView=all

YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/user/FIFProTV/videos

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fifpro

This is a podcast made by Message Heard for FIFPRO.

Host: Joe Hart

Producer: Mark Kendrick

Production Coordinator: Kirsty McLean

Videographer & Editor: Ethan Judd

Sound Editor: Lizzy Andrews