Claim: Bosnia has banned padel over a rise in gay population.
Fact: The claim is false. It originated from a satirical post.
On 3 February 2026, Facebook page ‘Kluchit’ posted (archive) a visual with text stating, “Bosnia bans padel amid rise in gay population.”
The accompanying caption reads as follows:
“Bosnia has officially banned padel tennis nationwide, effective immediately. Authorities linked the decision to the sport’s surging popularity within the growing LGBTQ+ community, claiming the game’s social structure contradicts the country’s push for traditional values. All courts are being shuttered and equipment sales halted, sparking a massive debate over civil liberties and the use of sports for demographic control.”
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check searched for reliable reports from reputable news outlets but did not find any relevant information.
However, we did come across a thread on Reddit in a subreddit called “r/AskBalkans,” where users responded to the claim with jibes and sarcasm, indicating that it was likely a joke.
The Reddit thread included a screenshot of an Instagram post (archive) from 28 January 2026 by user @kjafiroid, who wrote that it was “satire”.
In addition, we also reached out to Raskrinkavanje, an outlet accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), of which Soch Fact Check is also a signatory.
Raskrinkavanje Editor-in-Chief Rašid Krupalija confirmed that the claim “originated from a satirical post on Instagram”. He said it had “no basis in reality” and that “Bosnia [has] instituted no such ban”.
“The post was inspired by the rising popularity of a tennis-like game called ‘padel’ in Bosnia, in combination with a joking and somewhat stereotypical view that gay men enjoy playing the game,” Krupalija added. “Homosexuality is not criminalised in Bosnia. The country’s laws prohibit discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation.”
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that the claim is false.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the post circulating here and here on Facebook and here, here, and here on Instagram.
Conclusion: The claim is false. It originated from a satirical post.
Background image in cover photo: Vincenzo Morelli
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