A Premier League star reportedly complained to his club that they made him appear gay.
The player in question was featured on the front of the club’s matchday programme during the LGBTQ+ Rainbow Laces campaign period for two seasons in a row, according to The Athletic, leading to his concern.
This has emerged amid news that the Premier League are launching a new LGBTQ+ allyship campaign from February 6 to February 13 called With Pride.
Last year the Premier League severed its partnership with the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, having first started working together in 2014, and thus ending the Rainbow Laces initiative.
The new campaign will put less pressure on individual players to align with the LGBTQ+ community. Captains will not be asked to wear rainbow armbands and players will not have to wear pride-themed warm-up tops or rainbow laces.
Both of those demands caused conflict last season. Ipswich’s Muslim captain Sam Morsy refused to wear the rainbow armband, and Crystal Palace’s Christian skipper Marc Guehi scrawled ‘I love Jesus’ and then ‘Jesus loves you’ on his. Manchester United did not warm up in their pride-themed jacket as Noussair Mazraoui, a Muslim player, refused to wear it.
In the new campaign, there will be pride-related themes on stadium screens, advertising boards, pre-match handshake boards, and the ball plinths.
The hope is that this will reduce friction with individual players.
Last season, Guehi, who is the son of a church minister, opted to scrawl the message ‘I love Jesus’ on his armband for Crystal Palace’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle, and was subsequently reprimanded by the FA.
Despite being reminded of kit regulations, Guehi chose to write a new message – ‘Jesus loves you’ – ahead of Palace’s 1-0 win at Ipswich in the following match.
‘I think the message was pretty clear to be honest,’ Guehi told Sky Sports. ‘It was a message of love and truth as well, and a message of inclusivity so I think it speaks for itself.’
He was not punished but he was reprimanded by the FA, who reminded him their and FIFA’s rules ban ‘any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images’ on players’ equipment, which includes armbands – though this did not extend to LGBTQ+ messaging.
Guehi’s father John told Daily Mail Sport: ‘I am saying did he offend anyone? I don’t think so. I do believe in what the Bible says, Jesus loves everyone, and, in my opinion, Marc did not offend anyone with what he wrote.
‘Jesus loved everyone therefore 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 are doing, they are trying 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 an opinion.
‘But if that opinion’s aim is to offend you then there is a problem but if my opinion is just to express what I feel then I think that is fine and I don’t think what Marc wrote on that armband is offensive.
‘He is talking about him, he loves Jesus and like I said he didn’t refuse to wear that 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 having a go at him for what he wrote, he accepted to wear the armband, he was just trying to balance the message.
‘He was saying “You gave me the armband, as a Christian I don’t believe in your cause, but I will put it on” but Morsy didn’t put it on because he said it was against his religion but more seems to be being said about Marc than him.
‘We are so thick-skinned in this country, God is everywhere in this country, and I know things change because of different beliefs but it is still a Christian country. Therefore, I don’t see what is offensive.
‘He is a devout Christian; the son of a church minister and he accepted to put the armband on to welcome everyone in football but the problem we have now is that players are being used as spokespeople now.’
Meanwhile, Manchester United ditched plans to wear rainbow jackets for their warm-up ahead of their 4-0 win over Everton after devout Muslim player Mazraoui chose not to wear it.
It is understood that Mazraoui’s refusal to wear the rainbow jacket divided his team-mates.
