Ex-footballer crowned Mr GayItalia

26-year-old Giovanni Licchello, a former footballer from Brindisi, has been crowned Mr Gay Italia 2013.
Licchello, an Iraqi refugee, who fled his home after his family asked for him to be killed because of his sexuality, was awarded a special prize for bravery after being left scarred for life when he defended a gay friend who was beaten in a nightclub.






 
He spent two years in Germany before moving to Turin, where he was taken in by a gay couple.
“I had two dads,” Licchello told the judges. “They looked after me and gave me the opportunity to study and work.”






 
The award for Mr Gay Smile went to 39-year-old Michele Ratti, a maths and physics professor from La Spezia in northern Italy. He has been “openly gay since University and proud of it.”

 



The competition was held at Mamamia gay club in Tuscany and is now in its 17th year.
It’s happening as politicians resume a debate over an anti-homophobia law following the suicide of a 14-year-old boy in Rome who was bullied for being gay. Politicians and gay rights groups have now called for tougher punishments for those involved in hate crimes against homosexuals.