Anti-Gay Croatian Soccer President Markovic To Face Disciplinary Hearing Over Homophobic Comments

The Associated Press reports that Croatian Football Federation president Vlatko Markovic was summoned to a disciplinary hearing Wednesday by the Union of European Football Associations – the governing body of soccer – after it was reported that he said he would deliberately exclude openly gay players from the national team. The UEFA said it has opened a case against Markovic over rules that relate to discrimination and the conduct of soccer officials. Article 11 of the European soccer disciplinary code calls for sanctions if someone “insults the human dignity of a person or group of persons,” while Article 5 states that insulting behaviour is a breach of integrity and sportsmanship. The UEFA released a statement that a disciplinary panel will hear the case November 25th, at which time it has the authority to suspend Markovic from all soccer-related duties. Markovic is seeking re-election next month, and had offered an awkward apology for anti-gay comments he made in an interview published last week, including saying that he had yet to meet a gay soccer player because “Fortunately, only healthy people play football.”