Leading Russian gay rights activist says LGBT fans are ‘not safe’ at World Cup

An outspoken Russian gay rights activist has said LGBT football fans are “not safe” at the World Cup.

Anton Krasovsky, who is a Russian political journalist, has warned LGBT people heading to the tournament to be careful. 

Speaking to HuffPost, the TV anchor said that Moscow is worth visiting for LGBT because of its underground gay scene.

However, he added: “But what I’d also like to tell everyone is: don’t take a stand in public. It’s not safe.”

In 2013, Krasovsky made global headlines when he came out in a live broadcast on the KontrTV network, and later revealed that he was fired for his comments the same day.

He had been editor-in-chief of the network.

In the original announcement, the footage of which removed from the network’s website and YouTube channel, he said: “‘I’m gay, and I’m just the same person as you, my dear audience, as President Putin, as Prime Minister Medvedev and the deputies of our Duma.”

Krasovsky also told HuffPost that Russia has become increasingly homophobic since he came out.

The FIFA World Cup in Russia starts tomorrow. (MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty)

“I’m the first homosexual politician in Russia — an extremely homophobic country with an extremely homophobic capital in the midst of a very homophobic Eastern Europe,” he told the publication.

“That’s a statement. And I believe that Russia needs more statements like this — not just for the LGBT scene but also perhaps for women’s rights.”

Football fans are gearing up for the World Cup, which starts tomorrow in Russia. Read PinkNews’s LGBT guide on who should win here. 

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