French Minister Regrets UEFA Rejecting Rainbow Germany-Hungary Match

France's openly gay minister for European affairs said on Tuesday he regretted UEFA's rejection of a request by Munich to light its stadium in rainbow colours for the Germany-Hungary Euro 2020 match

Luxembourg, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Jun, 2021 ) :France's openly gay minister for European affairs said on Tuesday he regretted UEFA's rejection of a request by Munich to light its stadium in rainbow colours for the Germany-Hungary Euro 2020 match.

"I find it a shame," Clement Beaune told AFP as he arrived for a meeting with EU counterparts in Luxembourg.

"It would have been a very strong symbol" in support of the LGBT community, he said, arguing it would have "gone beyond a political message -- it's a message of deep-rooted values, not a partisan option".

Beaune however acknowledged that UEFA had internal rules to contend with, which the European football's governing body advanced to explain its decision.

The city of Munich had asked to illuminate its stadium in rainbow colours in pointed protest at a law by the Hungarian government passed last week which bans any educational materials deemed to "promote" homosexuality to minors.

In Brussels, a spokeswoman for the European Commission said the issue was a matter for discussion between Munich and UEFA, but "we believe it is a good idea to show support for this (LGBTQ) community in the European Union, including during sporting, cultural or other events".

Other EU ministers arriving to the Luxembourg meeting slammed Hungary's new law as anti-European, fearing it would add to a homophobic stance by Budapest.

The law, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said, "is unworthy of Europe".

"People have the right to live as they want. We're not in the middle Ages any more," he said, adding that his country, the Netherlands and Belgium had co-signed a declaration stating that.

German European Affairs Minister Michael Roth said the Hungarian law "clearly violates EU values", and said his country backed the Benelux statement.

Beaune said France also supported the text. Ireland did too, with its European Affairs Minister Thomas Byrne saying he was "very concerned" by the Hungarian legislation.

Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto sharply defended his country's law, saying it gave parents the exclusive right to educate their children regarding sexual orientation.

"This law is against only the paedophiles," he said.

"This law makes it very clear that children must be protected... that paedophile crimes must be punished in a very, very serious way."