Sacked gay referee fights to get his job back

24/06/2009 | Writer: KAOS GL

June 18, 2009
pinknews.co.uk

Halil Ibrahim Dincdag has said he will fight to get his job back. A 33-year-old Turkish football referee who was sacked for being gay has said he will take his fight to the European Court of Human Rights.

Halil Ibrahim Dincdag, who is from Trazbon, in the Black Sea coast area of the country, was sacked as a referee after announcing last month on television that he was gay.

Speaking on a Turkish football show on Kanalturk on Saturday, Dincag said he would continue to fight the legal battle against his dismissal.

The Turkish Football Federation revoked Dincdag's refereeing license on the grounds that, as homosexuals are declared 'unfit' for compulsory national military service, Dincdag would also be physically unfit to referee sporting events. Unlike other predominantly Muslim countries, being gay in Turkey is not illegal.

Dincdag told AFP:
Tags: human rights