As in various championships, England has also decided to dedicate a weekend dedicated to the LGBT cause with the aim of raising awareness among the British people and more broadly the whole world about the discrimination and violence suffered by homosexual and bisexual people. or transgender. Through a press release, the English Football Federation (FA) explained the reasons for this position taken by English football: “The FA and the County FA Network are delighted to be part of the Rainbow Laces 2024 campaign, which runs from Saturday 16 November to Wednesday 4 December 2024. The main way to show support for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport, Since Rainbow Laces launched in 2013, over a million of you have laced up your shoes to support LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport, fitness and physical activity. But this essential match is not over yet. Large parts of the LGBTQ+ community still can’t be themselves when attending or participating in sporting events“.
The campaign, now in its eleventh year, is an initiative supported by the charity Stonewall, in which team captains wear rainbow armbands and laces to signal their support for LGBT+ inclusion and in the fight against homophobia. But this initiative was accompanied by its share of controversies. A fervent Christian, Crystal Palace’s English defender, Marc Guehi, chose to register “I love Jesus” with a heart drawn in place of the word “love” on his rainbow-colored captain’s armband during his team’s match against Newcastle. League officials were gripped with horror and panic. For what ? This is actually a violation of the Football Association’s rules which state: “for any infringement, the player and/or team will be sanctioned by the organizer of the competition, the national football federation or FIFA”. The laws were clarified last year to stipulate that “captains must wear a simple armband that complies with the requirements of Law 4 relating to slogans, statements, images and advertising“.
Controversies that bother the FA
The fact that Marc Guehi chose to write the religious slogan on an armband supporting LGBT+ causes could have been considered an aggravating factor in the eyes of the FA. In the event, the governing body decided not to formally charge the Crystal Palace captain, but said it would write to him and his club to remind them that religious messages are prohibited. The player’s father, John Guéhi, who is also a church minister, defended his son in the columns of the Daily Mail : “Did he offend anyone? I don’t think so. I believe what the Bible says, Jesus loves everyone, and, in my opinion, Mark did not offend anyone with what he wrote. Jesus loved everyone, so by saying “I love Jesus” on his armband, I really don’t see what is offensive and what the problem is. If you look at what the LGBT community does, they try to impose on others what they believe in, it’s belief against belief, but at the end of the day everyone has the right to have an opinion. But if the purpose of that opinion is to offend you, then there is a problem, but if my opinion is just to express how I feel, then I think that’s fine and I don’t think that’s what Marc wrote on this armband be offensive“. Another player made headlines this weekend. Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy has refused to wear a rainbow armband due to his religious beliefs.
In the latter case, the FA considered that it was not a violation of its regulations. Morsy was the only one of 20 club captains in the Premier League this weekend not to wear the rainbow armband. The British-born midfielder, who plays for Egypt, is a practicing Muslim: “Marc talks about himself, he loves Jesus and as I said, he did not refuse to wear this armband, like Morsy. People should pay more attention to the person who refused to wear it. Marc said yes and did the right thing by wearing it, but people are attacking him for what he wrote. He agreed to wear the armband, he was just trying to balance the message. He said: “you give me the armband, as a Christian, I don’t believe in your cause, but I’m going to put it on” but Morsy didn’t put it on because he said it was against his religion, but it seems that more is said about Mark than about him», Said Marc Guéhi’s father. The FA ruled that Morsy’s decision was solely a matter between the player and his club. Ipswich said in a statement that it was committed to being a fully inclusive club to all communities and would always support LGBT initiatives but also accepted Sam Morsy’s decision. Manchester United have reportedly abandoned plans to wear an LGBT rainbow jacket after Noussair Mazraoui refused to wear it. The Athletic claims Mazraoui, who is a practicing Muslim, told teammates he would not wear the jacket and cited his religious faith as the reason. The club then decided that no player would wear the tracksuit, so that Mazraoui would not be singled out publicly.
English football is torn apart on this subject, at the same time making the initial awareness message invisible. Some accuse the English authorities of hypocrisy and inconsistency. FIFA and FA rules prohibit “any political, religious or personal slogan, statement or image” on player equipment, including armbands. Yet a message, even one in favor of inclusion, amounts to a political statement. The English press also underlines that these are the same leaders who decided to organize the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the next 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, a country where homosexuality is illegal: “The FA are happy that the crowd sings God Save The King when England play, which mentions God and religion. I support my son for what he did, he’s my son and of course I support him. I don’t see anything wrong with the message that was on his armband. I haven’t had the chance to talk to him about it yet. He didn’t refuse to wear the rainbow armband, so what’s the problem? Morsy refused to wear the armband, but my son didn’t, he wore it», concluded John Guéhi. The lack of real clarity, let alone real principles, is creating more and more problems on the ground. In this turbulent week, the English Federation and the English League have lost all credibility in the eyes of players, clubs and supporters.
