Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has said he “completely agrees” with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s controversial law on homosexuality.
In an interview with CNN, Ecclestone said of Mr Putin, “He hasn’t said he doesn’t agree [with being gay] just that he doesn’t want these things publicised to an audience under the age of 18.”
When pressed on whether he agrees with this, Mr Ecclestone responded, “I completely agree with those sentiments and if you took a world census you’d find 90 percent of the world agree with it as well.”
He went on to say, “I’ve great admiration for him and his courage to say what he says. It may upset a few people but that’s how the world is. It’s how he sees it and I think he’s completely right.”
Putin’s government has created a storm of controversy around the world by passing a law banning the promotion of gay “propaganda” to minors. In 2012, the Moscow City Court also upheld a law banning gay pride parades in for the next 100 years.
Bernie Ecclestone was cleared of corruption charges in London on Thursday, after a case against him, where he was accused of deliberately undervaluing the sport of Formula 1 in a 2006 sale, collapsed.
Mr Ecclestone is due to face trial in Germany in April, accused of making corrupt payments to a banker in the same sale. He denies the charges.
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