The weekend’s action came with a little more colour than usual as the work towards LGBT+ inclusion and the ongoing fight against homophobia was recognised with the return of the Rainbow Laces campaign, run by the charity Stonewall.
First launched in 2013, the campaign now sees clubs use rainbow corner flags, while captains wear rainbow armbands as well as laces. The occasion was almost universally observed, save for the Ipswich skipper.
According to The Mirror, the newly-promoted side confirmed that the 33-year-old, who is a practising Muslim, refused to partake in the initiative due to his faith. The club were nevertheless keen to stress their commitment to LGBT+ inclusion.
The Tractor Boys’ second dedicated Rainbow Laces fixture will take place on Tuesday night when they welcome Crystal Palace to Portman Road. In a statement, a spokesperson insisted that the club ‘proudly supports’ the campaign.
‘Ipswich Town Football Club is committed to being a fully inclusive club that welcomes everyone. We proudly support the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign and stand with the LGBTQ+ community in promoting equality and acceptance,’ the spokesperson said.
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Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy refused to wear a rainbow armband during his side’s 1-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest on religious grounds
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The weekend’s slate of fixtures saw the return of Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign in Premier League
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Premier League captains wore rainbow armbands, while corner flags were given the same colour
‘During this year’s campaign, members of the club’s men’s and women’s first-teams visited our Foundation’s weekly LGBTQ+ football session, while the club also made a joint pledge of solidarity and inclusivity alongside Nottingham Forest ahead of Saturday’s game.
‘A range of further initiatives are planned around Tuesday’s home game with Crystal Palace, including a takeover of the stadium’s big screen in the moments prior to kick-off.
‘At the same time, we respect the decision of our captain Sam Morsy, who has chosen not to wear the rainbow captain’s armband, due to his religious beliefs. We will continue to grow an environment where all are valued and respected, both on and off the pitch.’
Morsy may be the only captain to abstain from the gesture this season but he is not the first to object to participating in the campaign. Indeed, some clubs reacted with fury to attempts to make their players wear coloured laces when the campaign first started 11 years ago.
Last season, Sheffield United captain Anel Ahmedhodzic became the first skipper in seven years to refuse to wear a rainbow armband.
The Bosnia-Herzegovina star didn’t provide an official response as to why he didn’t wear it but Swedish outlet SVT Sport claimed he got back to them when questioned via text message, as the defender cryptically said: ‘Guess’, before failing to answer further questions.
There have also been notable examples on the continent, with Orkun Kokcu and Idrissa Gueye – then of Feyenoord and PSG respectively – citing religious grounds for their objection.
Research published by Stonewall found that 27 per cent of LGBTQ+ people do not feel welcome in community sport groups or community team sports, while 22 per cent who attended a fitness club or sports group in the last year experienced discrimination because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. When it comes to watching live sport, there remains huge obstacles to overcome.
One in five LGBTQ+ people who attended a live sporting event in the last year felt discriminated against because of being LGBTQ+. That figure rises to 34 per cent Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBTQ+ people who attended a live sport event in the last year.
