This week was overshadowed by the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign, an annual show of support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy has twice refused to wear a rainbow armband in matches, citing his religious beliefs, while Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi has refused to wear the armband he has worn in the past two games. I decided to write two pro-Christian messages.
athletic Also on Wednesday morning, it was reported that Manchester United had abandoned plans to wear a rainbow-themed Adidas warm-up jacket ahead of Sunday’s 4-0 win over Everton after defender Noussair Mazraoui refused to take part in the initiative. Like Morsy, the Moroccan international pointed to his Islamic faith as the reason for his reluctance.
The Premier League’s well-intentioned campaign has found itself at the center of a wider and more divisive debate, but one that is not limited to English football.
athletic We analyze the origins of the rainbow string and whether the initiative can maintain its place in the games schedule.
What is the Rainbow Laces campaign and why was it introduced?
The campaign dates back to 2013, when LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall first teamed up with British bookmaker Paddy Power to send rainbow-coloured lanyards to all professional footballers across England and Scotland.
Players were encouraged to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community by wearing the product, and its success led the Premier League to officially partner with Stonewall in an attempt to improve inclusivity at the highest level of English football. A report released by Stonewall last month found that one in four LGBTQ+ people still do not feel welcome at live sporting events.
It has become customary for the Premier League to allocate two matchweeks to the Rainbow Laces campaign each season, giving all 20 clubs the opportunity to mark the event with a home game. The Premier League distributes rainbow branded corner flags, ball rests, handshake boards and replacement boards to their clubs as well as lanyards and captain’s armbands.
A rainbow-colored substitution board is another way the Premier League marks its campaign (Michael Regan/Getty Images).
This season runs from November 29 to December 5, and over the wider period clubs are encouraged to highlight the work they are doing to deliver “equality, diversity and inclusion”.
This typically includes content featuring managers, players, and supporters to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. One example from this year was Southampton and England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale speaking about the difficulties faced by his openly gay older brother Oliver.
Why is this such a hot topic this year?
Morsy decided not to wear the rainbow armband during Ipswich’s 1-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest on Saturday, making him the only one of the Premier League’s 20 captains not to do so. A club statement released on Monday confirmed Morsi, who is Muslim,’s “religious beliefs” were behind it and said Ipswich would “respect” the midfielder’s actions.
Guehi, who is also a devout Christian, wore a rainbow armband after writing ‘I (Heart) Jesus’ on it during last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle United. This was in breach of the Football Association’s rules prohibiting the display of religious messages on playing kits.
Coincidentally, Morsy and Guehi were in the opposing team as Palace won 1-0 away to Ipswich on Tuesday night. Morsy decided not to wear the rainbow armband again and Guehi changed his message to “Jesus (heart) you”.
Marc Guehi and Sam Morsy have both spoken out about the Rainbow Laces campaign (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images).
Guehi explained his thinking behind the message in an interview with Sky Sports on Wednesday.
“Quite frankly, I think the message is very clear,” he said. “It speaks for itself because it is a message of love and truth and a message of inclusivity.”
On Wednesday athletic Manchester United’s plans to wear rainbow-themed warm-up jackets ahead of Sunday’s game against Everton were aborted after Majrawi, who is Muslim, refused to attend the game.
Is this the first time it has sparked controversy?
This is the second time a Premier League captain has refused to wear a rainbow armband, following Bosnia and Herzegovina international defender Anel Ahmedhodzic of Sheffield United in December last year.
Ahmedhodzic, who is Muslim, wore the standard Premier League armband in his first game as captain, a 2-0 home defeat against Liverpool. Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder told reporters after the game that he was unaware of Ahmedhodzic’s decision. When asked by Swedish outlet SVT Sport why he decided not to wear a rainbow armband, the defender replied: “It’s a guess.”
Aren’t players allowed to wear rainbow armbands or lanyards?
Neither lanyards nor armbands were mandatory, but there was an implicit expectation that all players would help promote the campaign. Until Ahmedhodzic did, no Premier League captain had resisted the pro-LGBTQ+ message.
What are the rules for football players promoting political symbols or messages on their jerseys?
Simply put, doing so is prohibited by the FA, which has specific kit requirements for players at all levels of English football. “The equipment must not contain any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images,” states Article 4 of the law.
The theory is that football and player kits should not be used to promote any belief, and that religion and politics should be kept at a distance.
But the lines can be blurred.
The annual Poppy Appeal, which raises funds for veterans of the British Armed Forces, sees clubs emblazon the charity’s logo on their kits, but James Maclean, now of League One side Wrexham, has long rejected the commemoration, seeing it as a political symbol. His roots were Catholic, growing up in Northern Ireland.
McClean stands apart from his Wrexham team-mates during the Remembrance Day moment of silence in November (Gary Oakley/PA Images via Getty Images)
“To me, poppies represent a completely different meaning than they do to other people,” McClean posted on Instagram last November. “Are you offended by someone wearing a poppy suit? No, not at all. But what makes me angry is the poppy… “It means force-feeding them.”
Former Manchester United player Nemanja Matic took the same stance, citing Britain’s historical involvement in military operations in his native Serbia.
It’s not just the players. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been fined £20,000 by the FA for wearing a yellow ribbon, a symbol of solidarity with independence activists in Guardiola’s native Catalonia region, where he was arrested by Spanish authorities in 2018. During the FA Cup match against Wigan Athletic.
What has been the response from football governing bodies and LGBTQ rights groups?
The FA have been in contact with Palace since Guehi wore a modified rainbow armband as a reminder of kit rules, but no formal action has been taken. Palace manager Oliver Glasner told reporters on Tuesday night that he had spoken to Guehi ahead of the Ipswich game. “That person is not a child. He is an adult and has his own opinions,” Glasner said. “We respect this and accept all opinions.”
The FA and Premier League have yet to comment officially on Morsy’s refusal to wear the rainbow armband or on Guehi’s message, but Stonewall issued their own statement this week. “It’s been amazing to see so many football teams at all levels supporting the Rainbow Laces campaign to make sport safer and more inclusive for everyone. “Having a club like Ipswich Town FC show their support helps people feel safe and welcome both on and off the pitch,” the spokesperson said. “It is up to individuals to choose whether and how to show their support for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport.”
Go deeper
‘We deserve our rights’: What LGBTQ+ fans think about the Rainbow Laces controversy
Is there any chance the campaign will continue?
There is no indication that Morsy and Guehi’s actions or the Manchester United incident will lead to a change in Stonewall’s alliance with the Premier League. This was a long-term partnership designed to welcome and increase inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ community, and resistance to the campaign was nominal.
Ahead of this year’s event, the league’s chief executive Richard Masters suggested the event remain a long-term commitment.
“Since the Rainbow Laces campaign launched 10 years ago, significant progress has been made in making football a more inclusive environment for the LGBTQ+ community,” Masters said. “We are determined to keep this momentum going to send a clear message that football welcomes everyone and that discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated.”
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium lights up in rainbow colors to support the initiative (Getty Images)
Are there equivalent campaigns for other sports?
The Rainbow Laces campaign is not limited to English football. Stonewall said “more than a million” people had taken part since it launched 11 years ago, including elite players from the worlds of rugby union, rugby league and cricket.
Other countries have adopted similar plans and, like the Premier League, have run into problems.
Clubs in the top divisions of French football wear rainbow-colored shirts once a season to promote the LGBTQ+ movement, meaning some players will not be able to participate in that round of matches.
Midfielder Idrissa Gueye, currently in the Premier League with Everton, has been left out of the Paris Saint-Germain squad twice after refusing to wear a modified shirt. Mauricio Pochettino, the club’s manager at the time, said Gueye had missed one particular match in 2022 for “personal reasons”, with Palace’s Cheikou Kouyate and Watford’s Ismaila Sarr (now a Palace player himself) offering support on social media. He said he had sent it. All three compete in international competitions on the Senegal national team, where homosexuality is illegal.
Toulouse and Morocco striker Zakaria Aboukhlal has also decided not to play for the French club in 2023, which will feature a rainbow kit to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. Monaco and Mali midfielder Mohamed Camara was banned for four games last season for concealing an anti-homophobia message on his shirt during a French Ligue 1 match. Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera condemned Camara’s actions as “unacceptable”.
Rainbow colors also caused an issue last year in the NHL, North America’s top ice hockey league. The NHL has reversed its ban on players wrapping multi-colored ‘pride’ tape on their hockey sticks in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
(Top photo: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
