Dinamo Zagreb boss to apologise over gay comments
Croatia's top court ordered controversial Dinamo Zagreb chief Zdravko Mamic to publicly apologise for his remarks discriminating against gays, rights groups said Tuesday hailing the decision. The Supreme Court ruled that Mamic made a direct discrimination against homosexuals by his statements, made in 2010, that he could not imagine a gay person within the national squad but "absolutely ... as a ballet dancer, artist, writer, journalist," a Zagreb Pride gay rights group said. By this ruling the tribunal "cemented the high standard of the protection of rights of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people as well as other minority groups" in Croatia", it said in a statement. Mamic, considered the most powerful man in Croatian football, has to publish both the ruling and his apology in a local newspaper within the next three days. The tribunal also banned him from any further public comments discriminating against gays. The initial suit was filed by four gay and civil rights groups in 2010 but the first instance court rejected it. At the time a judge ruled Mamic was only "expressing a value judgement". Croatia's Supreme Court issued a similar ruling over anti-gay remarks in 2012 against the former chief of the country's football federation (HNS) Vlatko Markovic. Markovic, who died in 2013, also had to publish an apology over his statements that he never met a gay football player as "fortunately football is only played by healthy people". Gays rights have gradually improved in the rather conservative Croatian society, notably during the past four years under the former centre-left rulers. But, the European Union member remains under the strong influence of the Catholic Church, which had labelled homosexuality a "handicap" and a "perversion." Almost 90 percent of the country's population of 4.2 million are Roman Catholics. Mamic, 56, is well known for his outspoken behaviour and for threatening journalists. The national anti-corruption prosecutors are currently investigate him over an alleged multi-million-euro embezzlement.
