Let us have an honest conversation about the decision of a number of footballers to refuse to either wear the rainbow armband in support of the Premier League’s LGBTQ+ inclusion initiative, or to wear a mutilated version of it. Because the media, it seems, is merely running puff-piece stories about it, citing the players’ religious beliefs and “respecting their views”. Well, I don’t respect their views and I certainly don’t respect their religion. I was brought up to believe one earned respect and was not merely handed it on a plate.
I write as both an atheist and a secularist who is particularly concerned about the disproportionate influence anyone who calls themself a man of God can wield. I strongly respect the rights of people to believe in the God of their choice, provided that in no way earns them special privileges and exemptions. That is what has happened here.
The Ipswich captain Sam Morsy, a Muslim who was born in Wolverhampton but plays his football for Egypt, was first out of the blocks by refusing to wear a rainbow armband in Saturday’s Premier League defeat at Nottingham Forest and Tuesday’s loss to Crystal Palace. His employer said this was due to his “religious beliefs”. A very principled stand, you might think, especially if you have respect for a backward, medieval religion that hates gay people. Islam is not the only religion that hates gays but it’s very much up their on the bigotry scale. If I was an Ipswich supporter and a member of the LGBTQ community, I would be more than a bit concerned that the captain of my team was given a special privilege to be exempt from supporting me and others. If I was an Ipswich player who was not “out”, how would I feel then?
Next came Noussair Mazraoui, the Moroccan international who plies his trade for Manchester United. United shelved plans to wear pride-themed rainbow jackets supporting the LGBTQ+ community after Mazraoui refused to take part, citing his – here we go again – religious beliefs. To quote from the Guardian: to “maintain the team ethos and togetherness” the rest of the team decided not to wear the jacket so the Morocco international would not be singled out. Religious privilege and special treatment writ large. An act of supreme bottling from a club that historically has a decent record of supporting LGBTQ issues. I said at the start that we should have an honest conversation about this, so I’ll be honest: fuck Mazraoui and fuck Manchester United. Next, we come to Crystal Palace and England defender Mark Guehi.
You might argue that his actions were not as offensive as Mazraoui and Morsy’s blank refusal to wear rainbow armbands and jackets, because he actually wore his armband on two occasions. However, on the first occasion he added, in felt pen, “I love Jesus” and on the second “Jesus Loves You”. The FA, rightly, bans religious messaging on kits and they didn’t take any action against the player for defacing the LGBTQ armband. “Quite right, too,” you might add, but what if, for example, a Muslim player started wearing Allahu Akbar on his shirt or armband? Sorry, but you either support a cause or you don’t. You are either with us, or against us.
In my eyes, Guehi’s was the lesser “offence” because at least he worse the armband, as he burbled on about “the message was just a message of truth and love and inclusivity to be honest.” I’d argue about the use of the word “truth” when it comes to religion but I’ll take him at his word for the rest of it. Less so Mazraoui and Morsy. And when it comes to hypocrisy, something which you might argue is all but required in many religions, they take some beating.
Morsy’s club has a variety of sponsors, including Aspall’s Cider and the brewery chain Greene King, as well as the betting company 8Xbet.com. The Qu’ran is quite hot in its opposition to booze and betting, yet I do not recall Morsy complaining about that, certainly not when he wore the club shirt which had the name of a betting company on the front, nor refusing to draw his salary from fans who may just have had a pint or two and a quick bet before the game. It seems that Sam’s sole objection is to the LGBTQ community. We see you, Sam. We see you.
Similarly, the highly principled Mazraoui seems to have no objection to some of Manchester United’s principal sponsors BetFred and Casillero del Diablo, the club’s official “wine partner”. If the player was in any way consistent, he’d declare his opposition to those to anti-Islamic brands, too, but of course he hasn’t. You don’t need me to tell you why, do you?
Part of the problem is of course the power of clubs and their players. Upset those at the top and hey presto you lose your media access. Perhaps that is why these players are never held accountable for their views by journalists for whom access is everything, enabling them to write puff pieces to keep the club happy. I get that, but it would be nice for bigots – and that is what I consider them to be – to get called out.
I go back to a very important point. There is not a single gay player in either the Premier League or at any of the EFL clubs. How can this be when, according to the last census, 3.2% of the population identifies as gay? You know the answer as well as I do. Gay players, at least in men’s football, do not feel comfortable or, I would suggest, safe in “coming out”, not when you have people in the same dressing room are openly opposed to who and what you are on account of their “religious views”.
Homophobia is, unfortunately, alive and well in society as well as football and that is what this story is all about. Let us not dress this up with the catch-all phrase “religious views”. If a religion is hostile to a group of people, let’s call it out for what it is.
Maybe we are, slowly, getting there. When I was a lad, there were no black players, but gradually they emerged, often enduring a storm of racism, and today while there are still problems, things are much better/not as bad. Now, there are no gay players in men’s football, except that there very obviously are.
Who knows if Mazraoui and Morsy, to name but two players, can change and accept others for who and what they are, instead of hiding their bigotry behind their “religious views”? I don’t know them and don’t want to know them, but there’s always hope, I suppose.
The author and political strategist Alastair Campbell once said of the New Labour government of 1997 that “We don’t do God”. Well, some members of the government very definitely did do God, not least prime minister Tony Blair, but it never got in the way of good governance. By the same token, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a Muslim, effortlessly embraces those of all religions and sexuality. So, it can be done.
You can’t progress this issue by force. It has to be by way of education, one way or another. Rainbow laces and Rainbow armbands are part of the story and they will be until the ignorance and stupidity of bigotry and hate has been shut down forever. That means talking about it and challenging narratives. Doing nothing and keeping our heads down is not a solution and never could be.
