by Freddie Attenborough, spiked
No one should be punished for refusing to wear the rainbow symbol.
Free expression is under attack in the beautiful game. Elite football clubs and governing bodies have long bristled at the thought that the fans upon whose wallets they’ve grown powerful might dare to dissent from their beloved woke orthodoxy. Now, they’re turning their attention to players.
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The latest player to be benched for non-compliance is Lyon midfielder Nemanja Matić. The Serbian international and former Manchester United star was handed a two-match ban this month after taping over an LGBTQ-inclusion message on his shirt in a recent Ligue 1 fixture. He has been forced by the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) to attend an ‘awareness-raising campaign… against homophobia in football’. Otherwise, he would face an additional two-match ban.
Banning players for their personal views has become a common occurrence in French football. Indeed, in the same round of fixtures, Le Havre striker Ahmed Hassan also taped over the rainbow design and received the same sanction. Nantes striker Mostafa Mohamed went further, withdrawing from his side’s relegation decider against Montpellier. In 2023, several Toulouse players were ‘withdrawn’ from the side after refusing to wear the insignia.