Paris St-Germain’s Idrissa Gueye has been asked to tender a public apology for refusing to play in a match to avoid wearing a rainbow symbol in support of LGBTQ+ rights. The 32-year-old African player was absent in their 4-0 win over Montpellier. The former Aston Villa and Everton midfielder refused to play the game as he said are against his beliefs. PSG head coach Mauricio Pochettino said the player did not state that he was missing the game because of his belief but for “personal reasons”.
Idrissa Gueye hets Support from Senegal Players
The French Football Federation (FFF) has reportedly written to Gueye to clarify why he was absent. Crystal Palace’s Cheikhou Kouyate and Watford’s Ismaila Sarr who are his country’s teammates have posted on social media in apparent support of their Senegal team-mate’s stance. Kouyate posted a picture of himself alongside Gueye on Instagram, with a caption calling Gueye “a real man”. Watford winger Sarr posted a picture of him and Gueye accompanied by three heart emojis and the caption “100%”.
In response to Sarr’s post, Watford reiterated their commitment to equality and diversity, adding “this includes the willingness to offer further education and support to any of its employees”. At a news conference on Wednesday, Patrick Vieira who is the current head coach of Crystal Palace said if his player had posted about Gueye, he would speak to them. “It’s going to be an in-house conversation.”
Homosexuality is illegal in Senegal and punishable by prison sentences of up to five years. It is also illegal in Qatar, where PSG’s owners hail from and where the men’s 2022 World Cup will be played later this year. The top Twitter trend in the world on Wednesday was #WeareallIdrissa with tweets sent to support Idrissa Gueye’s stance.
This is not the first time the player is doing that. In France, the 17th of May has been marked as International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia by wearing rainbow-design numbers on the back of their shirts. He missed last year’s show of solidarity citing gastroenteritis, according to Le Parisien newspaper, which first reported the reason for his absence.
Idrissa Gueye asked to Tender a Public Apology for Missing PSG Game
The AFP news agency said on Wednesday it had seen a letter from the FFF’s ethics board calling on Idrissa Gueye to explain why he missed Saturday’s game. The letter, says AFP, calls for him to “issue a public apology” or to say that the rumors he refused to play are “unfounded” and should he refuse to do so he would be “validating discriminatory behavior”.
PSG said on Wednesday that they were “very proud to wear this shirt”. But his stance has been supported by prominent politicians in Senegal. The country’s president Macky Sall wrote on Twitter that Gueye’s Muslim beliefs must be respected, while sports minister Matar Ba wrote that the player was backed by his country’s people, alongside a picture of the midfielder on pilgrimage to Mecca.
