He’s got away with it. The President of the Croatian Football Federation who caused outrage by claiming gay people could not play for the national team because only “healthy people” play football, has been cleared of direct discrimination by the courts, it’s been reported by the Croatian Times Newspaper.
Vlatko Markovic, 74, was sued by LGBT Equality and the Centre for Peace Studies over the comments, but a judge at Zagreb County Court has ruled that the federation and not Markovic should be sued for discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
As reported by the papers website, the gay rights group blasted the verdict saying it proves anti-discrimination laws are not being implemented and they state their intention to appeal the decision. Marko Jurcic told Croatian Times: “We believe that the problem is very deep because Vlatko Markovic is the head of Croatian football, and sport – according to Law on Sports – must be equally accessible to all, regardless of gender, race, religion or sexual orientation,”
Markovic, who has been president of Croatia's soccer federation since 1998, was awarded an Order of Merit by UEFA last year for services to the sport. He was forced to apologise for his comments and still refuses requests for interviews from members of the gay press.
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