The government spokesperson, Olivier Veran, described as “null” and “anachronistic” the refusal of some football players to wear rainbow shirts on the occasion of the weekend to fight homophobia, recalling that it was a “crime” and not an opinion. “It’s annoying. I was reading an article earlier where someone, a coach I think, said that homophobia is an opinion: no, it’s a crime,” the minister said on the set of France2.
“It’s anachronistic: we live in a time now (…) where everyone is free to love as they want,” he added. Some players from Toulouse, Nantes or even Guingamp refused to wear the rainbow jersey this weekend, despite the fact that most L1 and L2 players took part in the annual campaign “Gay or straight, we wear both .” t-shirt”.
When asked about the need to impose penalties on players who rebelled, Olivier Veran explained that if he was the “coach or director of a football team, I would tell my players: it is important to do this, this is the message he sends. to youth”. He recalled that “many young people today still suffer from homophobia in their daily lives and all the media is great at helping to normalize what used to be normal”.
The Sports Minister is calling for sanctions
The French Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castera, asked to punish some professional soccer players who refused to play the day before in order not to wear a special shirt with the colors of the rainbow.
This is an initiative of the Professional Football League to promote respect for the LGTBI+ community, which has already taken place on other occasions. “Yes, I think there should be sanctions,” the minister said in an interview with the public channel France 3.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
