The UK's Premier League football competition has become mired in controversy over the past week as a result of the Rainbow Laces campaign.
Rainbow Laces was launched by Stonewall, a UK-based LGBT rights charity, with athletes and fans being encouraged to wear rainbow-coloured laces.
Following previous successes of the campaign, the Premier League now collaborates with Stonewall on the Rainbow Laces campaign every season. The Rainbow Laces Week typically takes place each year in November or December.
The initiative has developed into a campaign whereby all players are encouraged to wear rainbow-coloured laces, along with team captains wearing rainbow-coloured armbands to supposedly demonstrate support for the rights of the LGBT community.
On Saturday, 30 November, England and Crystal Palace defender Marc Guéhi wrote "I love Jesus" on his rainbow-coloured captain's armband for Palace's match against Newcastle.
Guéhi comes from a devout Christian background. His father is a pastor and he has continued playing the drums at church while representing English football at international level.
He subsequently wrote "Jesus loves you" on his captain's armband for Crystal Palace's match against Ipswich on the night of 3 December.
Despite being informed, following the first armband "declaration", by the Football Association (FA) – the governing body for football in England – of kit regulations that forbid visible religious-related declarations, it is understood that the FA will not take action after the secondary armband display.
The FA states in its kit and advertising regulations: “The appearance on, or incorporation in, any item of clothing, football boots, or other equipment of any distasteful, threatening, abusive, indecent, insulting, discriminatory, or otherwise ethically or morally offensive message, or any political or religious message, is prohibited.”
Some have pointed out that under this ruling, players should not be wearing any kit in support of Rainbow Laces, as it could be argued to be politically motivated.
Sam Morsy, the captain of Ipswich and a midfielder player for the Egyptian national team, refused to wear the armband altogether because of his Islamic beliefs during the game against Crystal Palace and Guéhi.
This is the second year in a row that a Premier League side’s captain has decided against wearing the rainbow-coloured armband. Last December, Sheffield United’s Anel Ahmedhodžić , the Bosnia and Herzegovina international defender, also refused to wear one.
In a similar controversy, Manchester United players abandoned the club’s plans to wear a rainbow-themed Adidas jacket in support of the LGBTQ+ community for the Premier League match against Everton on Sunday, 1 December, after defender Noussair Mazraoui, a practising Muslim, refused to wear it.
The club subsequently <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/dec/04/manchester-united-scraps-rainbow-jackets-after-mazraoui-cites-religious-objections"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">stated</mark></a> that it is better for none to wear the jacket in order to "maintain the team ethos and togetherness". Bruno Fernandes, the captain of the team, did wear the rainbow-coloured armband in the match, which saw United beat Everton 4-0.
A spokesperson for Stonewall has said: "It is up to individuals to choose if and how they show their support for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport."
<em>Photo: Marc Guéhi of Crystal Palace, wearing his rainbow-coloured captain's armband with the message regarding Jesus on it, interacts with Sam Morsy of Ipswich Town, who wears his plain captain's armband during the Premier League match between Ipswich Town FC and Crystal Palace FC at Portman Road in Ipswich, England, 3 December 2024. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images.)</em>
