The ban was already in place for Friday’s Spain-Switzerland match, which was played in St. Petersburg, Russia for a change.
–
“UEFA’s outrage and audacity knows no bounds,” the German Gay and Lesbian Association (LSVD) responded. Already last week, football officials refused to allow Munich to light up its stadium in the colors of the rainbow during the match between the home Germany and the Hungarians. The Bavarian capital wanted to show support for Hungarian sexual minorities at a time when the local parliament had approved a controversial law banning, among other things, the display of homosexual issues in schools.
–
Alfonso Pantisano, the president of the association, added that the UEFA decision is a betrayal not only of members of sexual minorities in Russia and Azerbaijan, but also elsewhere in Europe.
–
The European Football Association has repeatedly argued that it must remain politically neutral and that advertisements in the colors of the rainbow are, according to the organizers, in conflict with Azerbaijani legislation.
–
One of the main sponsors of the championship is the German carmaker Volkswagen. During the matches so far, it was possible to see their advertisements in rainbow colors running on the bottom bar of the stadium by the field.
–
The carmaker said it regretted the decision because it wanted to show “another clear signal supporting diversity” with the rainbow.
–
The issue of the rights of sexual minorities and LGBT groups is being addressed quite a lot at the current championship. There are several reasons, but the main one is the fact that during the tournament, the Hungarian parliament passed a law on pedophilia, which includes a ban on showing homosexual content in schools and in the media.
—
