“Everyone is free of their opinions”, the disastrous attitude of French football on the fight against homophobia

Several players from Toulouse, Nantes or even Guingamp refused to play with the rainbow flocked jersey during this weekend of the fight against homophobia in football, reviving the controversies aroused last year already by Idrissa Gana Gueye.

“We must not give too much importance to these individual choices and do not forget that more than 400 players have played the game without any problem”, explains to AFP Bertrand Lambert, member of Panamboyz and Girlz United, one of the associations with which the Professional Football League (LFP) works all year round. “It’s an ultra-minority reaction, I would like to welcome the fact that many Toulouse supporters have clearly condemned this attitude on Twitter,” he insists.

The vast majority of L1 and L2 players played with the numbers in the colors of the LGBT pride flag for this annual campaign “Gays or straights, we all wear the same shirt”. The Montpellier club even inserted the rainbow for the occasion
in its crest, replacing its traditional blue and white bands.

But in Toulouse, explained the management of the club in a press release, “players from the professional workforce expressed their disagreement” and did not want to be associated with this operation, including Zakaria Aboukhlal.

“An unnecessary day”, seriously?

The Moroccan international explained in English on Instagram that he “respects all individuals, regardless of their preferences, gender, religion”, but, he adds, “respect also contains that for my own beliefs. I don’t think I’m the best person to participate in this campaign, I hope my decision will be respected”.

On the Nantes side, Mostafa Mohamed also marked his refusal to participate in the operation, we learned from a source close to the “canary” club. The Egyptian, explained his coach Pierre Aristouy “was torn between his desire to play and more distant issues. It is a sensitive issue”. On Saturday, the Senegalese defender of Guingamp Donatien Gomis also preferred to forfeit the Ligue 2 match at Sochaux.

“I expected worse,” Yoann Lemaire, of the Foot Ensemble association, told AFP. “We underestimated the problem, a large number of players do not want to wear the jersey. »

Le Roy and Genesio off topic

These tunics must then be auctioned off for the benefit of the Foot Ensemble, Panamboyz & Girlz United and SOS Homophobia associations.

Brest coach Eric Roy lamented a “catastrophic” timing. “Don’t do it in the last four games” when the clubs are playing their “survival”, he said after Brest’s victory against Auxerre on Sunday afternoon.

“There are players who have a problem with it. Everyone is free to their opinions, personally, that does not pose a problem for me, ”added the technician from Brest. “It’s very good that the League is getting involved, but personally, I’m not happy that there are five players who aren’t playing in Toulouse, who are playing against Nantes, who are fighting with us to maintain their position. Is it fair? No. »

A mind-blowing speech, almost as much as that of Bruno Genesio, the Rennes coach: “Everyone is free to think and do what they want. I tell you, we are against all forms of discrimination, but I’m not sure it’s necessary to organize a day against homophobia. I think we are all aware of that and that it is not worth wanting to display all the time”.

Bertrand Lambert, of Panamboyz and Girlz United, recalls that this operation “is not intended to promote homosexuality but to promote football open to all, and to fight against homophobia, which is not an opinion in France. but a crime. You have to understand that these people are not being asked to become homosexuals! »

He underlines that his association like others intervene “all year round with players and in training centers” and “welcomes the work of the LFP”. The head of the association “still feels that things have evolved little by little. Before, we were a little alone in sounding the alarm, until the day when matches were stopped, the problem that was under the carpet became public.


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