Gay Turkish referee seeks compensation

Gay Turkish referee seeks compensation

Published May. 31, 2011 12:18 p.m. ET

A former referee is seeking compensation from the Turkey Football Federation for allegedly outing him and dismissing him for being gay.

The Anatolia news agency says referee Halil Ibrahim Dincbag told an Istanbul court on Tuesday that he was unable to find work after documents showing he was exempted from military service because of his homosexuality were leaked to the media two years ago.

Dincbag is seeking 110,000 Turkish lira ($69,000) in compensation from the federation which sacked him two years ago. He also accuses the federation of leaking the documents to the media.

Human rights groups are closely following his case as a test of improvements to gay rights in Turkey.

ADVERTISEMENT
share