World Cup 'Safe Space' Evicted From Premises In St. Petersburg

An organization providing a "safe space" for LGBT and ethnic-minority football fans in Russia said that it was "evicted from its premises" in St. Petersburg on the eve of the World Cup, according to the BBC. Diversity House was "supposed to open for the duration of the tournament." It aimed to provide a "tolerant environment for gay and non-white football fans to watch matches." But at the last minute, the building's owners locked the organizers out and "terminated their contract." A local organizer said, "They asked us to leave the place very rudely, switched off the electricity and they explained nothing to us." The Football Against Racism in Europe network, which was behind the initiative, said that it "could have been a politically motivated move." FARE Dir Piara Powar said in a statement that it was a "political attack of the kind that shows how debates about human rights are curtailed by powerful conservative political forces in Russia" (BBC, 6/17).