The Ligue de football professionnel (LFP) renounces participating in the World Day Against Homophobia, abandoning all LGBT symbols for a cryptic action against “all forms of discrimination”.
RIP to the May 17 matches dedicated to the fight against homophobia. Tired of the controversy that recurred every year because a few players were unable to wear a simple armband or rainbow-colored badge, the Ligue de football professionnel (LFP) decided to sweep the issue under the rug. The weekend of April 24, during the 31st matchday of Ligue 1, thus inaugurated a new catch-all mechanism “against all forms of discrimination” (racism, homophobia, sexism…), consisting of printing the players’ jerseys with the first names of 34 victims of discrimination.
“A first name, symbol of a real person who suffered discrimination”, explains the LFP. What discrimination did these “Jérémy”, “Sofiane”, “Laura” who adorned the players’ jerseys suffer? We do not know. A “strong and symbolic gesture”, nevertheless praises the LFP, which pushes the matter further by asserting that, with this regular retreat, it “wished to shed light on victims and give visibility to people too often silenced”. The visibility of the victims through the invisibilization of the discriminations they endure, one had to think of that.
Gay football divided
“Never has the fight against homophobia in football been so mistreated and ridiculed”, exclaimed the Rouge Direct association the day after this broad smoke-and-mirrors operation, denouncing “a botched action”, at a date that “has no meaning or symbolic significance”, for a “message that makes no sense”. In March already, the announcement of abandoning rainbow symbols, worn since 2019 on football pitches for the World Day Against Homophobia, had provoked an outcry among associations: SOS homophobie, Stop homophobie, Panampride, the LGBT+ Sports Federation and the Paris Rainbow Football Club had denounced this outright abandonment of the cause by the LFP.
Reste que la LFP n’est pas responsable de la situation qui a mené à ce renoncement, fait valoir Yoann Lemaire, président de l’association Foot Ensemble, partenaire de la ligue pour l’organisation d’ateliers de sensibilisation et de lutte contre l’homophobie déployés dans les clubs. “Pendant longtemps, on a bassiné la LFP pour avoir les couleurs [arc-en-ciel] sur les maillots, a-t-il rappelé lors de la conférence de présentation du nouveau dispositif. Depuis deux ans, on les bassine pour arrêter et faire autre chose.” Référence à ce qui, de fait, était devenu le marronnier du 17 mai : combien de joueurs refuseront cette année de porter un symbole LGBT au nom de leur culture ou de leur religion ?
In 2022, Idrissa Gueye (PSG) opens the ball by staying away on May 17. The following year, his example inspired others: Mostafa Mohamed (Nantes) also sulked the match placed under the banner of the fight against homophobia, as did Donatien Gomis (Guingamp) and five more Toulouse players. In 2024, Mohamed Camara proudly took up the mantle by concealing the rainbow logo on his jersey, which earned him four matches of suspension. Alas, the following year Mostafa Mohamed repeated, declaring: “Certain deeply rooted values, tied to my origins and my faith, make my participation in this initiative difficult.” And Yoann Lemaire summarized: “The controversies are starting to wear down the football world”. Because of five or six recalcitrant players, there are only controversies, even though almost all the others wear it. It is good to try something else with this campaign and see what it yields. It is a gamble.” We would like to share this hopeful optimism.
