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Rabat – Amid an intense backlash, conservative supporters from across the world have backed international Senegalese football player Idrissa Gana Gueye following his decision not to participate in a match due to its LGBT-colored jersey during a Paris Saint-Germain match.
Last week, the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder missed a game to avoid wearing a rainbow jersey in support of the LGBTQ movement.
PSG’s coach Mauricio Pochettino said the football player was absent for “personal reasons.”
The National Council of Ethics of the French Football Federation (FFF) summoned Gueye, while politicians in France asked for a penalty against the Senegalese international for refusing to show solidarity with the LGBTQ community.
On the other side, supporters from across the world launched an online campaign to back Gana Gueye’s position and right to freedom.
“Freedom is the expression that western society always promoted.Speaking/believing/thinking/accepting. Freedom of everything” wrote on Twitter former deputy editor in chief at sports news outlet Goal (Arabic) Mahmoud Diaa.
“Freedom” is the expression that western society always promoted
Speaking/believing/thinking/accepting..Freedom of everything
Our religion rejects these actions and we also do,rejecting doesn’t mean attacking and this is what Idrissa did
Keep going @IGanaGueye #WeareallIdrissa pic.twitter.com/FvyUJMNYSP
— Mahmoud Diaa (@MahmoudDiaaaa) May 18, 2022
Senegal’s President Macky Sall joined the campaign under the “WeareallIdrissa” in support of the Senegalese international saying: “ I support Idrissa Gana Gueye. His religious convictions must be respected.”
Je soutiens Idrissa Gana Gueye. Ses convictions religieuses doivent être respectées.
— Macky Sall (@Macky_Sall) May 17, 2022
A Twitter user said: “It’s one thing to promote the LGBTQ+ community to the world, but it’s a whole different matter to force it on people. Idrissa Gana Gueye can’t be crucified for not being pro-LGBTQ+. This is no different from abortion, we all view and treat it differently.”
It’s one thing to promote the LGBTQ+ community to the world, but it’s a whole different matter to force it on people. Idrissa Gana Gueye can’t be crucified for not being pro LGBTQ+. This is no different to abortion, we all view and treat it differently…
— Phillix M. Kokwele ?? (@Matome_Kay) May 16, 2022
Another Twitter user accused people against Gana Guye’s position of hypocrisy, saying that those who accuse him of being “against minorities’ rights” are neglecting that Gueye is one of the “Muslim minority.”
“You are not giving him the right to act according to his beliefs. Your double standards are disgusting,” the tweet reads.
The backlash against the football player comes amid an increase in Islamophobia in France, which continues to promise radical action against “Islamic separatism.”
During the recent presidential elections, French candidates have publicly announced measures deemed Islamophobic.
The 2022 Marie Le Pen electoral campaign vowed to ban the hijab (Muslim headscarf) in public spaces if she won the elections.
She lost to her rival President Emmanuel Macron, who won his second term during the April election.
Macron also has a history of controversial remarks on Islam.
In October 2020, the French President prompted backlash from Muslims after describing Islam as a religion “in crisis.”
“Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today.”
The Muslim community condemned similar remarks, emphasizing that such remarks are not in line with France’s legacy of the Age of Enlightmentmt and the motto France adopted to defend, “freedom, equality, and fraternity.”
Earlier this year in January, the French Senate also sparked outrage after enacting a law that prohibits the wearing of “conspicuous religious symbols” in sports competitions.
The decision particularly targets the Muslim viel, claiming that the hijab can put the safety of athletes wearing it at risk.
