PSG Gueye refuses to wear gay supported rainbow-jersey
By Oviri Kelvin, Sports Editor
Senegal’s Idrissa Gueye refused to play on Saturday for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) against Montpellier which has raised criticism from a section of French football promoters.
Gueye, a former Everton and Aston Villa player, withdrew from the contest and was the only player that did not feature in Le Parisiens’ 4-0 win according to PSG coach, Mauricio Pochettino.
The resolve by the Senegalese to abstain from the match which is still sketchy is said to be related to the inclusion of the rainbow design added to the team’s jersey to show solidarity for LGBQT rights. The Trumpet Gathered
Gueye, a moslem and from a country that prohibits same-sex marriage, issuing up to a five-year sentence as a penalty to anyone found guilty of the crime, has been asked by the French Football Federation (FFF) to
explain his absence from PSG’s encounter with Montpellier.
Recently, precisely on Monday, 17-year-old Blackpool’s forward, Jake Daniels, openly came out to announce he is gay. This makes him the first British professional footballer after thirty years of Justin Fashanu’s demise, a known gay, to accept his same-sex status.
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However, Gueye, since he joined PSG from Everton for a fee of £30m in July 2019, is the second time he has refused to wear the rainbow-designed numbered jersey to mark 17 May’s International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.
The AFP news agency said on Wednesday it had seen a letter from the FFF’s ethics board calling on Gueye to explain why he missed Saturday’s game, BBC Sport reported.
The letter, says AFP, calls for him to “issue a public apology” or to say that the rumours he refused to play are “unfounded”.
The letter reportedly adds if he did refuse to play he would be “validating discriminatory behaviour”.
Meanwhile, Gueye’s fellow national teammates, Crystal Palace’s Cheikhou Kouyate and Watford’s Ismaila Sarr have taken to social media to throw their weight behind the PSG’s midfielder.
According to Kouyate, who posted a picture of himself alongside Gueye on Instagram captioned ‘a real man’, Gueye did the right thing to respect his faith while Watford winger Sarr posted a picture of him and Gueye with three heart emojis and caption, “100%”.
Reports emerging from Senegal reveal the country is in support of player’s action. The report said that the country’s president Macky Sall wrote on Twitter that Gueye’s Muslim beliefs must be respected, while sport minister Matar Ba wrote that Gueye was backed by his country’s people, alongside a picture of the midfielder on pilgrimage to Mecca.
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