“Anti-LMBTQ” (Anti-LGBTQ, for the French acronym), written in full on a banner held up by several Hungarian “supporters”. Imperceptible images from our TV set watching Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal triumph 3-0 against the Hungarian side on Tuesday, June 15 at the Puskás Arena in Budapest, on the first day of Euro 2020.
Detect forms of discrimination
Broadcast for a while on social networks, this homophobic message was however spotted by the radars of the international anti-discrimination network Fare (“Football Against Racism in Europe”), one of whose missions is to monitor matches to detect incidents of racism and other forms of discrimination. Fare submitted an official report to UEFA on Wednesday June 16 to shed light on the incident with the European association in charge of organizing the Euro.
The slogan was displayed publicly, as the Hungarian parliament passed a law banning the «promotion» homosexuality among minors and in schools, which includes the dissemination of content on “The deviation of gender identity [et] the change of sex “, according to the text approved on Tuesday. Fare denounces thus “Political acts that support and endorse the policies of the government that has just passed a law that is widely seen as marginalizing the LGBTQ community”.
Hoots at the knee on the ground of the Irish
In its report, the body, which brings together supporters’ associations, human rights organizations, amateur clubs and activist groups, also criticizes the boos of part of the Hungarian public towards players from the Republic of Ireland, a week earlier, on the occasion of a friendly meeting in Budapest.
The Irish team had been whistled as it dropped to one knee, a gesture that has become a global symbol of the fight against racism and police violence. The Hungarian federation “Issued a statement once he knew the Irish players would kneel down to say it was a political move.” This then sparked boos against the Irish players ”, s’insurge Fare.
“The situation in Hungary is problematic, worries Piara Powar, executive director of Fare. You cannot distinguish between the government’s position and what appears to be the football association’s position. This shows where Hungary stands as a country. This does not bode well for international events. ”
Tuesday’s incident should make it possible to review the arsenal of measures planned to fight against the scourge of homophobia in sports arenas. “We need a better, firmer approach so that respect for universal rights is a condition for the organization of matches at major tournaments”, Piara Powar insists on this point. The Hungarian federation and UEFA have not yet commented on the events of June 15.
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