The European Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation (EGLSF) today condemned comments made by Vlatko Markovic , President of the Croatian Football Federation in an interview with Croatian national daily Vecernji List.
Mr Markovic remarked that there was no place for gay players on the national side, stating "While I'm a president of the Croatian Football Federation, there will be no homosexuals playing in the national team",
Mr Pepe Garcia Vazquez, Co-president of the EGLSF, an organisation representing over 17,000 lesbian gay bisexual and trans (LGBT) athletes across Europe says of the comment:
“We are appalled by Mr Markovic’s statement, which is not only highly offensive, but is also clearly at odds with Croatian anti-discrimination legislation. These kinds of comments not only have a negative effect on individual players, but ultimately harm the game. We are expecting the Croatian FA to make a full apology and will be calling on UEFA, through our representation within the FARE Network to challenge Mr Markovic.”