Toulouse Football Players Refuse to Wear Rainbow Jerseys and Armbands: Controversy and Reaction

2023-05-14 14:42:13

This weekend, French professional football is once again joining the fight against homophobia, with rainbow jerseys and armbands in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. In Toulouse, several players refused to wear them, triggering polemic.

“Is it true ? Why would they refuse I don’t understand?“Incredulous, skeptical, the supporters of the TFC like Nadine do not really know what to think of the information revealed by the Dépêche du Midi on the eve of the match this Sunday: our colleagues evoke five TFC players who allegedly refused to wear the rainbow armband and jersey, LGBTQ + symbols chosen by the Professional Football League, to fight against homophobia.

According to our information, Moussa Diara, like Logan Costa, have denied having refused to participate in the match, and are at the disposal of the coach to be on the score sheet, for the 35th day of the Ligue 1 championship which will oppose the Stadium against the TFC at FC Nantes.

Incredulous too, Alexandre Roux the president of the ex-Indians, the main supporters club of the TFC contacted this morning. He waits to see: “We won’t comment before the game until we see what is really happening on the pitch.”

The president of the Violets, official club of TFC supporters, declares himself shocked by these announced defections, both for their reason and because of the sporting situation of the club.“Me it shocks me. And then it can penalize the club, it handicaps the team when we need to take the points to save ourselves. It’s incorrect” explains Alain Grolier.

The socialist president of the Departmental Council of the Haute-Garonne Sébastien Vincini condemns the refusal of the players and invites the club not to “not let a few players tarnish all of its work in the fight against homophobia and discrimination.“

In vice-President of the departmental council of Haute-Garonne Vincent Gibert he also complains:The choice of these players is unacceptable, it must be condemned and they must be punished. THE @ToulouseFC is a civic club, committed to a fairer society, in the image of its city, which should not be able to be associated with these behaviors.“

For her part, the municipal councilor LFI Agathe Roby regrets the message of “hatred, contrary to the values that sport is supposed to convey” send by these players.

Three of the five players supposedly refusing to play in the rainbow colors are missing from the official TFC squad roster for this game: Saïd Hamulic, Zakaria Aboukhlal, and Moussa Diarra.

Shortly before the kick-off of the match, postponed due to mine clearance in the stands, the Toulouse club confirmed in a press release what “players in the professional squad have expressed their disagreement with the association of their image with rainbow colors representing the LGBT movement.“