Divergent Approaches to Rainbow Armband Gesture in Football

During the recent weekend fixtures, nineteen of the twenty Premier League captains displayed the rainbow armband. Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy’s choice to forgo the rainbow armband, which supports the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign, has attracted attention and scrutiny. On Saturday, during his team’s 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, Morsy opted for a standard armband rather than the rainbow version, citing “religious beliefs” as the reason, as stated by his club, Ipswich. He repeated this action in Ipswich’s match against Crystal Palace on Tuesday evening. This raises questions about the motivations behind his decision and the subsequent reactions. Each season, the Premier League partners with the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall for the Rainbow Laces campaign. This initiative encourages elite players to wear rainbow-coloured laces and captain’s armbands to show solidarity with LGBTQ+ rights, foster acceptance among younger generations, and advance equality and diversity. Launched in 2013, the Rainbow Laces campaign typically runs for one week and has consistently received support from all clubs and most Premier League captains since its inception. Morsy has not yet provided a personal statement regarding his decision. The armbands, supplied by the Premier League alongside other matchday equipment, are not mandatory for captains to wear. However, Ipswich Town issued a statement on Monday confirming that the 33-year-old Egypt international, who practices Islam, based his choice on his religious convictions. The club stated: “We proudly support the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign and stand with the LGBTQ+ community in promoting equality and acceptance.” They added: “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.” As the Rainbow Laces campaign coincided with midweek Premier League fixtures, Morsy again opted against wearing the rainbow armband for the Ipswich versus Crystal Palace match on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Palace captain Marc Guehi (right) displayed the message ‘Jesus [heart] you’ on his armband. Morsy’s choice, which positioned him as the sole captain not to wear the armband during the previous weekend’s matches, has elicited both support and criticism. The Ipswich Town LGBTQ+ supporters’ group, Rainbow Tractors, informed BBC Radio Suffolk: “While Rainbow Tractors were aware in advance of the decision, we are disappointed that Sam Morsy chose not to wear the rainbow armband in support of the Rainbow Laces campaign.” They further stated: “We do, however, continue to respect his religious beliefs as we have done in previous seasons.” The explanation of Morsy’s decision based on religious beliefs has prompted confusion and allegations of hypocrisy from some, considering the Wolverhampton-born midfielder has previously worn jerseys featuring gambling sponsors, an activity prohibited by Islamic law. Laura McAllister, a Uefa executive committee member and former Wales captain who was instructed to remove a rainbow-coloured hat at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, commented on BBC Radio 5 Live: “I think there has to be an element of individual choice, but I’m really disappointed because a captain represents the team, and the club, and everybody who is a fan of that club, and everybody who works at that club, and that will include a lot of LGBT people as well.” Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi displayed a personalized message on his captain’s armband during the weekend. In his team’s draw with Newcastle last weekend, Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi wore the armband, but inscribed ‘I [heart] Jesus’ on it. The Football Association (FA) opted not to sanction Guehi but plans to remind both the club and the player that religious messages on their kit are prohibited. For Tuesday’s match against Ipswich, Guehi altered his written message to ‘Jesus [heart] you’. Morsy’s decision to abstain from an LGBTQ+ support campaign is not unprecedented among footballers. Last season, Sheffield United defender Anel Ahmedhodzic, who is also Muslim, did not wear the armband when he captained the Blades during their Premier League loss to Liverpool. Similar to Morsy, he chose not to explain his decision, responding with “guess” when questioned by Swedish broadcaster SVT Sport. Anel Ahmedhodzic similarly opted not to wear the rainbow armband. In the past, clubs in France’s top two football divisions wore rainbow-themed shirts for one matchday each season to show solidarity with the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. The names and numbers on the back of these shirts were rainbow-coloured, ensuring automatic participation in the initiative for every player in the division. However, a small number of players declined to participate in the campaign and refused to wear the shirts. This resulted in some players making themselves unavailable for selection and being excluded from their clubs’ matchday squads. Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye was omitted from Paris St-Germain’s squad for two consecutive seasons due