Footballers ignite ‘cancel culture’ row in Hungary

BUDAPEST: When a German football club sacked a Hungarian coach for anti-immigration comments, outraged officials in Budapest rushed to defend his right to free speech against “liberal opinion-terror”.

But Viktor Orban’s right-wing government itself oten stands accused of silencing criticism at home as the nationalist premier has sought to shape the country into a “Christian-conservative” bastion against liberalism.

Budapest’s muscular defence of free speech ater the dismissal of Zsolt Petry by Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin followed its threat earlier this year to regulate social media giants like Facebook for alleged censorship of conservative opinions.

Orban’s flagship policies include radical pro-family measures aimed at reversing demographic decline, as well as anti-migration and anti-lgbt legislation that has been slammed by rights groups.

Critics also say the self-styled “illiberal” Orban -- in power since 2010 and likely to seek a fourth straight term at next year’s election -- clamps down himself on opinions he doesn’t like.

The central European country dropped to 92nd position -- the second lowest in the EU -in the annual press freedom index of Reporters Without Borders published Tuesday, with the media watchdog calling it a “would-be information police state”.

‘Toxic country:’ In one recent case of free speech under threat, the pro-government media targeted writer and poet Krisztina Toth ater she said a classic novel should be dropped from the school curriculum over its old-fashioned depiction of gender roles.

“Hungary has become a toxic country,” Toth told the Austrian magazine Falter, adding that she has received death threats and dog excrement in her postbox.

The latest free speech row was ignited February in the world of football, Orban’s favourite sport, by RB Leipzig and Hungary goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi, 27, who expressed support for gay rights in a Facebook post.

His solidarity with “rainbow families” came weeks ater the introduction of a law that effectively bans gay adoption.

With Hungarian sportspeople rarely commenting publicly on current affairs, the popular goalie sharply divided fan opinion and drew criticism in pro-government media.