The Football Federation Does Not Recognize Gay Referee!

The Turkish Football Federation claimed that Halil Ibrahim Dincdag, who was banned from refereeing because he is gay, has not conducted any matches between the years of 2000 and 2008. Lawyer Soyle said, “This is a mockery of us and the court as well.”

 

The 12th hearing of Halil İbrahim Dincdag’s court case against the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) was held on Tuesday. Dincdag had sued the TFF because he was banned from refereeing due to his sexuality.

 

With the written report they sent to the court, the TFF claimed that Halil Ibrahim Dincdag had not served as a referee in any matches between the seasons of 2000-2001 and 2007-2008.

 

Lawyer Fırat Soyle spoke to bianet news portal where he stated the following: “It is impossible for us to accept this claim. In the duration of four years when this case has been in court, the situation has not been denied. In the documents that the TFF presented to the court, they only provide information about matches after 2008 when Dincdag was exempted from military. They ignore the period before this entirely. This is a mockery of us, the court and of the TFF itself as an institution. We cannot take this claim seriously.”

 

He added: “This only elongates the court case. The case is probably going to be delayed further. Such a long ruling process is against the 6th item of the European Convention on Human Rights on fair hearing as well.”

 

Currently, the court is in the process of waiting for a document from the Trabzon Provincial Referees’ Council regarding the matches where Dincdag refereed.

 

The amount of indemnity that Halil Ibrahim Dincdag will receive is going to be based on the number of matches he conducted.

 

The next hearing will take place on 15 June 2014, at 11:00 AM. (bianet)

 

Translation: LGBTI News Turkey