UEFA takes action against homophobic Croatian Football Federation president, while supporting homophobic FIFA president

While we are pleased with UEFA's action against the homophobic president of the Croatian Football Federation, we remain dismayed at the impunity of Sepp Blatter (and FIFA), who made the choice of homophobic Qatar as host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and then mocked those who contested this most contestable of choices.

Not only have UEFA ignored the issue, they are supporting Blatter in his campaign to be re-elected as president of FIFA. Of course, the alternative to Blatter is Qatari football bigwig Mohamen bin Hammam, so it's basically a choice between two raving homophobes.

Still, one can only think that UEFA, despite its positive actions against racism and homophobia in football, still lacks the balls to take on someone with a bigger profile than poor mister Markovic in Croatia.

In this light, it's good to look back to the letter written to Blatter by IGLFA, ICONS, GFSN, and the FGG back when Qatar was chosen as the 2022 host:

Dear Mr Blatter


We are writing to express our collective dismay that Qatar, a country where homosexual acts are illegal, has been chosen to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

We strongly believe that football has a tremendous power in bringing people and communities together and that football is and should be for all, regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. In choosing Qatar, FIFA has all but excluded members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from football’s premier competition.

In your mission statement you state that football is a “unifying force whose virtues can make an important contribution to society.” You promise to “use the power of football as a tool for social and human development” and claim “responsibility to reach out and touch the world, using football as a symbol of hope and integration”.

In awarding the 2022 event to Qatar you have broken the promises you have given in your own mission statement and now risk losing the confidence, respect and support not just of the LGBT community, but also for all those in the game who truly believe that football is for all.

As head of FIFA we note that you are also a member of the International Olympic Committee, and would like to draw your attention to the Olympic Charter which states that “Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement”. We do not consider awarding the tournament to Qatar compatible with the Olympic Movement and will be writing to the IOC for its views on.

We urge you to engage with us and outline to us how you intend to address the concerns of an LGBT football supporter who wishes to attend the 2022 FIFA World Cup and ensure that future events are openly accessible to everyone.