A French amateur club has refused to register a homosexual player, leading to a gay football organization to ask the French Football Federation to impose sanctions.

The organization, Paris Foot Gay, said Wednesday that club FC Chooz should be punished "to help the football world to realize that homophobia is as bad as racism and anti-Semitism."

Yoann Lemaire has played at Chooz for 14 years, but the club says it won't register him again to avoid any "trouble" with his teammates.

French junior sports minister Rama Yade has also called for action to be taken against the club from eastern France.