Several Toulouse players were omitted from the Ligue 1 game against Nantes on Sunday due to their disagreement with the league-wide support against homophobia, which was held to mark International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on 17 May.
According to the club’s statement, “The players concerned expressed their disagreement with the association of their image with the rainbow colors representing the LGBT movement.”
“As a result, after multiple discussions and respecting the individual choices of the players, Toulouse Football Club opted to leave them out of the match”.
During the weekend’s games, Ligue 1 and 2 players donned rainbow-colored numbers on their shirts and displayed banners, while coaches and officials wore rainbow armbands to support the campaign.
However, Toulouse forward Zakaria Aboukhlal decided not to participate in the match, stating on social media that: “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.”
Brest secured a 1-0 victory over Auxerre, increasing their lead over their fellow strugglers to four points. Although Nantes remained in the relegation zone, their draw with Toulouse enabled them to reduce the gap to just one point behind Auxerre.
Brest coach Eric Roy criticized the timing of the campaign, saying: “The programming of this day against homophobia is catastrophic. Everyone is free to express their opinions. Personally, I have no problem with it.
“But you can see that there are players who have a problem with it. Then you should not schedule this campaign at that time when you know some players are fighting to avoid relegation. You could do it in December or September.”
It’s worth noting that Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye also declined to participate in a similar gesture when Ligue 1 held it last season while playing for Paris St-Germain.