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Loading ...Turkish gay referee speaks out against firing
06.25.2009 4:37pm EDT
“They thought I was an ant that they could crush, they thought I would run away and hide in a corner,” Said the recently fired Halil Ibrahim Dincdag. “But they have destroyed my life and I will fight them to the end.”
Dincdag, a soccer referee in Trabzon, Turkey, for 13 years, has gotten much support from the country after deciding to come out on a popular television sports program. Three quarters of the 80 referees in Trabzon have called him and given him support while 30,000 people have signed a petition started by Turkey’s most influential newspaper in support of his campaign.
“The day the press started writing about me, I went into a coma, and the day I appeared on TV I died,” Dincbag said in his lawyer’s office to the Independent. “Thirty-three years of my life had disappeared. Since then, I have been trying to resurrect myself.”
Dincbag was fired in March for being gay and shortly afterwards news reports started popping up about him across the country. Though homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey, there is wide-spread homophobia typical of many Middle Eastern countries.
Read the full Independent story here.
Talk about a courageous role model. . . .
I hope this brave man prevails in the end. He deserves to work at a good job he can do and to be able to support himself.
Once he is reinstated, I might just start watching soccer… we need more role models like him!
I would definitely like to see more of this courageous man!!
I have no doubt that he will resurrect himself – and simply discussing the situation is a good start. Perseverance, belief in self, patience and the support of good people will see him through. I commen his brave stand and wish him the best.
I would like to know why something that just happened here in Connecticut which in my eye’s is “Horrific” has not even been mentioned on this website or any other national gay website….a 16yo male had a exorcism performed on him to get the “Gay Demon” out of him! by some church group in Bridgeport Ct….this is one of the reasons kids commit suicide and our community is not even reacting…I’m outraged that we think more of gay pride parades and marriage equality than we do of physical and mental abuse of our people…shameful!
Don – it was on here yesterday and had tons of comments. I blogged about it and used the link to the video provided in the comments here.
Go to the bottom of the page and click on religion. It is the top story with 71 comments from yesterday.
The Connecticut situation is not under this article about this Turkish man.
Not wanting to join the EU anytime soon I see.
He is fighting for something according to Turkish law, he is not intitled to but why they waited so long to fire him, is a mystery. I think there is more to the story than is told.. He should have served in the military instead of claiming he is gay and now maybe he would not be dealing with this.