“Respect is a value that I hold in great esteem. It extends to others, but it also encompasses respect for my own personal beliefs. Hence, I don’t believe I am the most suitable person to participate in this campaign.–Moroccan defender Zakaria Aboukhlal
French league footballers refuse to wear rainbow-coloured jerseys
Some players elect to miss matches in France’s top league to avoid wearing multicoloured numbers.
France’s top football league has been caught up in a storm of controversy after several players refused to take part in a gesture of support for the LGBTQ community at the weekend.
The French Professional League, the domestic football governing body, had called for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 players to wear shirts with rainbow-coloured numbers at this weekend’s matches ahead of Wednesday’s International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. But some players refused to do so.
The National Union of Professional Footballers said it was not up to the players to convey “collective messages”. It said in a statement it was astonished that clubs should ask them to do so.
Toulouse left out the players who did not want to wear the shirts. But the club’s Moroccan defender Zakaria Aboukhlal defended his choice not to take part in the campaign.
“Respect is a value that I hold in great esteem. It extends to others, but it also encompasses respect for my own personal beliefs. Hence, I don’t believe I am the most suitable person to participate in this campaign,” he wrote on Twitter.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/15/french-league-footballers-refuse-to-wear-rainbow-coloured-jerseys