Gay referee to go to court to get his job back
Posted By Rob Parker on June 18, 2009
Turkish FA give gay ref red card
A Turkish referee is preparing to go to the European Court of Human Rights after allegedly being stripped of his licence for being gay. Halil Ibrahim Dincdag, aged 33, had his refereeing licence revoked after coming out on a TV show last month.
He said: “I have not committed a crime, I have not defamed my profession. I’m only a homosexual. Since then, my life has turned into hell. I have inadvertently become a standard-bearer of the homosexual struggle”
The Turkish Football Federation thinks it has found grounds for the dismissal. Homosexuals are exempt from Turkey’s compulsory military service and are subsequently classified as ‘unfit’ by the army. The federation reckons that by the same token Dincdag is unfit to referee.
Officials have also defended the descision on the grounds that he was a “mediocre” ref anyway! Dincdag has promised to go as far as the European Court of Human Rights to get his licence back.
SUPPORT Halil Ibrahim Dincdag..HE’S DONE NOTHING WRONG!!!!!
100% with you Halil!! fight for your rights against bigotry!
Dincdag is a very brave courageous guy- well done to you !
FIGHT ON DINCDAG! DON’T LET THESE HOMOPHOBES BEAT YOU UP. TAKE IT TO EUROPE. TAKE IT EVERYWHERE. YOU ARE A BRAVE MAN AND I SALUTE YOU.