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Will Croatia Soccer Chief Vlatko Markovic’s Apology For ‘No Gays Allowed’ Policy Get Him Off The Hook? No

After insisting no fags would ever play on Croatia’s national soccer team, Croatian Football Federation president Vlatko Markovic is apologizing with his head held low.

It only took some international outrage and the threat of legal action from The Gays for Markovic to say he’s “sorry for a clumsy interpretation. It was not my intention whatsoever to insult or hurt anyone,” he says in a statement. “I have nothing against members of any minority, least of all against those of same-sex orientation Once again, I apologize to all those who were hurt.”

Which is, I guess, what we were supposed to take away from his remark that “only normal people [not gays] play football”?

But the non-apology isn’t stopping gay groups Kontra and Iskorak from saying they’re still going to file legal action and complaints with the Union of European Football Associations, since Markovic’s stated No Gays policy violate Croatian and international anti-discrimination law, as well as Croatian soccer rules.

Not that Croatian’s gay soccer fans are new to the sport’s leaders spewing anti-gay rhetoric. Otto Baric, a former coach, was fined $2,510 in 2007 for telling a newspaper “there is no place for homosexuals in my team. Homosexuality is not good.”

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