Football player Mohamed Camara will miss the first four games of the upcoming Ligue de Football Professionnel season due to his religious decision to cover a patch on his shirt that promotes LGBTQ rights.
The patch was part of the French league’s annual campaign against anti-LGBTQ discrimination. It contained the word homophobia, which had been crossed out, according to The Associated Press.
Before his team’s game on May 19, Camara, who is Muslim, covered his badge with white tape and refused to take part in a pregame photo in front of a banner with the same message.
At least two French leaders criticized him on social media that night and called for him and his club Monaco to face sanctions.
“Homophobia is not an opinion, it is a crime,” said Aurore Bergé, French equality minister. wrote on X, according to the Associated Press. “And homophobia kills. There must be strict punishment for Mohamed Camara.”
Meanwhile, officials in Mali, where Camara is from, defended the player’s right to freedom of expression, while club officials said he was making a personal choice that did not reflect the team’s beliefs.
“Mo did it for religious reasons,” Monaco general manager Thiago Scuro said, according to Atlético. “It is a very delicate subject at all levels, because we also have to respect all religions. But, as an organization, we are very saddened by this episode and want to make it clear that we do not support this.”
In its statement, the Malian Football Federation said: “It is important to remember that players are citizens like any other, whose fundamental rights must be protected in all circumstances,” according to The Telegraph.
Despite the federation’s objections, the Ligue de Football Professionnel imposed a four-game ban on Camara, which he will serve at the start of next season.
LGBTQ rights in sports
The Camara saga in France is the latest in a series of conflicts arising from sports leagues’ efforts to promote LGBTQ rights.
In the United States, in recent years, hockey and baseball players have been criticized for refusing to participate in all or part of the Pride-themed games, even when their refusal stemmed from their religious beliefs about marriage, such as the Deseret News previously reported.
For example, some NHL writers and fans have argued that Ivan Provorov should have been benched during a January 2023 game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Anaheim Ducks after refusing to wear a “Pride Night” shirt during warmups.
In 2017, former U.S. Women’s National Team member Jaelene Daniels faced similar pushback from commentators and fans for refusing to play games in rainbow-themed jerseys, according to Atlético.
Daniels faced no repercussions from the USWNT or her regular club, which re-signed her in 2022 despite objections from some fans, the article said.
US Soccer continued to celebrate Pride Month in June and partner with LGBTQ rights groups throughout the year.
This year, “the U.S. women’s and men’s national teams will wear jerseys with Pride-inspired rainbow-themed numbers during June matches,” The Athletic reported.
Like American football, the Ligue de Football Professionnel in France has persisted in its efforts to reduce anti-LGBTQ discrimination despite the related drama.
“This is the fourth consecutive season that professional clubs in France have been invited to wear rainbow-colored numbers, armbands or emblems on their shirts to support the LGBTQ movement. Similar controversies arise every year,” according to the Associated Press.
Proud Nights in the NHL
Unlike those football leagues, the NHL decided last season to avoid future controversies by eliminating themed warm-up jerseys.
While hockey teams can still host special nights for fans, players are no longer required to participate.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said last summer that the new policy would eliminate distractions.
“What happened last year was that the issue of who wanted to wear a particular uniform on a particular night overshadowed everything else our clubs were doing,” he said, according to the NPR.
