Wrestlers resent gay spectators

Istanbul - Turkey's oil wrestlers - burly men who cover themselves in olive oil and grapple with each other wearing leather trousers…

Istanbul - Turkey's oil wrestlers - burly men who cover themselves in olive oil and grapple with each other wearing leather trousers - are trying to stop a group of homosexuals coming to watch.

"It's immoral," Anatolian news agency quoted the Traditional Sports Federation as saying.

The often moustachioed wrestlers, their muscles rippling in olive oil under the hot sun, try to pin each other to the ground. Putting a hand down the opponent's trousers to get a better grip is a common tactic. Homosexuality is not banned in Turkey, and several cities have thriving gay scenes.