Former Rangers FC player Marvin Andrews has claimed that gay people have a “spiritual sickness”

The Trinidadian footballer played in the Scottish Premier League for several years, with the Livingston and Rangers football clubs.

The 38-year-old is still playing in Scotland – for Elgin City, in the fourth tier of the sport.

Andrews was writing to defend his pastor Joe Nwokoye – who has previously blamed natural disasters on same-sex marriage.

The footballer wrote: “For a man to see a man or a woman to see a woman in that way is a spiritual sickness and it is the Bible – not Marvin Andrews – that says that is an abomination.

“I am not going to contradict my beliefs. I don’t care if 100,000 people are against me – I’ll stand on the word of God.”

Activist Rob McDowall, of LGBT Network told the Daily Record: “I am a strong advocate of free speech and the right to practise one’s religion freely but Marvin Andrews is distorting the teachings of the Bible to justify his intolerance of LGBT persons.

“What happened to God and God only being the judge?

“While it may suit Andrews to misinterpret 20 verses of the Bible out of around 31,000, Christianity is about love and tolerance.”