Stonewall the LGBT equality charity has criticised Paddy Power for a stunt created to highlight the absence of any openly gay footballers in the Premier League.

Paddy Power which sponsors Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign against homophobia in sport, run an empty open-top bus through Brighton Pride that was labelled the “official bus of gay professional footballers.”

Paul Mallon of Paddy Power said that the company’s idea was meant to encourage the Premier League “to boot itself into 2018, and create a welcoming environment for its first gay player.

“We think an out gay Premier League footballer would have an extraordinary effect not just on the LGBT+ community, but society in general,” he explained

But Stonewall has warned that the attention-grabbing act may actually make it harder for footballers to make the leap and come out. Kirsty Clarke, Stonewall’s director of sport, has written on the charity’s site that however “well-intentioned” the action was, stunts like this one “need to stop.”

“Not only are they unhelpful and potentially dangerous,” she said, “they can spark a frenzy of people trying to guess what players might be lesbian, gay, bi or trans.

“This is not how we create an environment where athletes feel comfortable being open about who they are. “Coming out must always be a personal decision. It can be difficult, takes courage and is not necessarily a one-off event,” she added.