Several football players in the French top division, Ligue 1, have been slapped with bans for refusing to wear LGBTQ+logos to raise awareness of homophobia.
French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera called for the “strongest sanctions” to be imposed against players who did not want to join the campaign.
Most players cited religious reasons and their values as the reason for their refusal.
Lyon midfielder Nemanja Matić has been hit with a two-game ban after covering an anti-homophobia message he had to wear.
To mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia on May 17, French football clubs added a rainbow patch to the sleeves of their shirts.
Matić came onto the pitch as a substitute but the rainbow colours were hidden, while the French word for “homophobia” was crossed out with a red line. Only the word “football” was visible.
It was not the first time Matić had refused to join campaigns imposed on him from higher up.
In November 2018, he declined to wear a remembrance poppy on his shirt for a match against UK team Bournemouth. Following the game, he faced criticism and received threats on social media for what some saw as a lack of respect towards fallen servicemen.
Matić explained that he chose not to wear the poppy because his home village of Vrelo was bombed during the NATO airstrikes on Yugoslavia in 1999.
He was not alone in his resistance against wearing the LGBTQ-insignia. Le Havre’s Ahmed Hassan also concealed the colours and was hit with the same penalty as Matić.
Nantes forward Mostafa Mohamed withdrew from his side’s match against Montpellier, citing personal beliefs — marking the third time the Egyptian international has opted out of the initiative.
“Everyone carries their own story, culture and sensitivity,” he said. “Living together also means recognising that diversity can be expressed differently depending on the person.
“I believe in mutual respect. The respect we owe others, but also the respect we owe to ourselves and our beliefs. For me, there are deep-rooted values linked to my background and my beliefs that make my participation in this initiative difficult.”
According to sports outlet L’Équipe, FC Nantes reportedly fined Mohamed a substantial amount for refusing to take part in the campaign. He had previously missed matches linked to similar initiatives during his time at the club.
League clubs have been running campaigns against homophobia since 2021, to raise awareness around LGBTQ+ issues in football.
Next to rainbow colours on jerseys or bands, banners are also displayed in stadiums.
“In addition, the committee proposed to the player — who immediately accepted at the meeting — that he take part, within six months, in a campaign to raise awareness of the fight against homophobia in football …” Ligue 1 said in a statement on June 5.
“It is unacceptable behaviour,” Oudea-Castera told French radio station RTL after he learned that some players did not want to wear the LGBTQ-logos.
“I had the chance to tell the Ligue de Football Professionnel [LFP] what I thought about it last night and I think such behaviour must be subject to the strongest sanctions against the player and the club which allowed it to happen.”
The French sports minister Marie Barsacq was outraged about the refusal by some players.
“Football has a massive platform and the [French Football] Federation is determined to put this issue on the clubs’ and supporters’ agenda,” she said.
Oudea-Castera added: “Homophobic insults and behaviour are no longer acceptable. Society has evolved, and the language in football must change with it. There’s a full range of sanctions available, and they must be applied.”
The Polish Government has published a draft bill which, if it becomes law, would make comments about LGBT people that are found offensive punishable by up to three years in prison. https://t.co/vezRU12t6N
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 2, 2024
