While the French League 1 championship starts this weekend, all teams in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 will have jerseys bearing the colors of the rainbow, a symbol reflecting the LGBTQ+ movement.
However, several Toulouse FC players, including Morocco’s Zakaria Aboukhlal, refused to wear the jersey during this Sunday’s match against Nantes, according to La Dépêche du Midi.
“Questions were raised when the club announced the group of players selected for the match. It’s a group of 25 players, an unusually high number, when only 20 names can be put on the match team sheet,” the same source indicated.
Five teammates have expressed to their coach their refusal to participate in the game so as not to be associated with the League’s initiative. They are Zakaria Aboukhlal, Moussa Diarra, Fares Chaibi, Logan Costa, and Said Hamulic.
While the club attempted to convince some of the players to change their minds by Sunday, Aboukhlal and Hamulic expressed “a firm refusal.” Logan Costa, however, denied having refused to play the game.
Other players also opposed wearing jerseys with LGBT+ symbology, such as Senegalese defender Donatien Gomis, who plays for En Avant Guigamp. Therefore, his name does not feature among the squad.
Last season, Paris Saint-Germain’s player Idrissa Gueye similarly raised concerns by refusing to wear the rainbow jersey.
From the opponent team, Nantes, Egyptian player Mostafa Mohamed, was also among those refusing to take part in the game.
“FC Nantes’ Mostafa Mohamed, refused to leave the hotel where the Nantes delegation was staying because he refuses to wear the jersey,” tweeted France Bleu Loire Ocean, first generalist radio in Nantes, in a post.
The rainbow-adorned jerseys will be auctioned as part of the elite French leagues’ annual anti-homophobia campaign. The proceeds will be donated to three charities active in combating discrimination against LGBTQ people.
