Basketball star John Amaechi slams Sepp Blatter over comments on gay World Cup fans

John Amaechi

Basketball icon John Amaechi has complained to FIFA after president Sepp Blatter joked that gay fans travelling to the World Cup in Qatar should 'refrain from any sexual activities'.

Homosexuality is illegal in the middle east country which was controversially chosen to host the tournament in 2022.

And Blatter sparked fury among gay groups when he said: “I would say they (gay fans) should refrain from any sexual activities.”

Former Stockport Grammar pupil Amaechi, one of few Britons to play in America's NBA, slammed those comments.

Referring to the recent bidding process, which saw Prince William and David Cameron fly to FIFA headquarters to support England's failed proposal, he said: “This is yet another case where the epic, archaic, Neanderthal ignorance of of someone who wields the power to summon kings, princes, presidents and prime ministers to bid at at their pleasure uses that power not to foster positive change but to further entrench bigotry.”

Forty-year-old Amaechi, who won global acclaim when he 'outed' himself as homosexual three years ago, described Blatter's faux pas as 'wholly unacceptable'.

He added: “Anything less than a full reversal of his position is unacceptable and if the FA and football associations around the world fail to acknowledge this insult, they too will be complicit.

“If sport cannot serve to change society, even temporarily during the duration of an event like the World Cup that invites the world to participate, then it is little more than grown men chasing a ball and we should treat it as such."

Blatter made his comments while visiting South Africa, who hosted this year's tournament.

He refuted claims that the decisions to hand the event to Qatar in 2022 and Russia (ahead of England) in 2018 were about money.

"This is development of football and don't speak about money," said Blatter.

"This has nothing to do with money as it had nothing to do with it with Africa.

"It is the development of the game. We have to take to places where it can improve and have a social and cultural impact. And it's what we did here in Africa."

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