Sports
Premier League Rainbow Laces campaign explained: What is it and what has sparked controversy?
The Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign, an annual show of support for the LGBTQ+ community, has been overshadowed this week.
Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy twice refused to wear the accompanying rainbow armband in games, citing his religious beliefs, while Crystal Palace skipper Marc Guehi chose to write two pro-Christian messages on the armbands he’s worn in their past two matches.
The Athletic also reported on Wednesday morning that Manchester United abandoned plans to wear rainbow-themed Adidas warm-up jackets ahead of Sunday’s 4-0 win over Everton after defender Noussair Mazraoui refused to join the initiative. The Morocco international, like Morsy, pointed to his Muslim faith as the reason for his reluctance.
A well-intended campaign from the Premier League has found itself at the heart of a wider, divisive debate but one that is not unique to English football.
The Athletic analyses the origins of rainbow laces and whether the initiative can retain a place in the game’s calendar.
What is the Rainbow Laces campaign and why was it introduced?
The campaign dates back to 2013 when Stonewall, the LGBTQ+ charity, initially teamed up with UK bookmaker Paddy Power to send rainbow-coloured laces to all professional footballers across England and Scotland.
Players were encouraged to show their support for LGBTQ+ communities by wearing them and its success led to the Premier League formally partnering with Stonewall in an attempt to improve inclusivity across the top level of English football. A report released by Stonewall last month showed that one in four LGBTQ+ people still did not feel welcome at live sporting events.
It has become customary for the Premier League to allot two matchweeks to the Rainbow Laces campaign every season, presenting all 20 clubs with the opportunity to mark the event with a home fixture. The Premier League distributes rainbow-branded corner flags, ball plinths, handshake boards and substitution boards to its clubs, as well as the laces and captain’s armbands.
The wider period, this season running between November 29 and December 5, also sees clubs encouraged to highlight the work they do to “embed equality, diversity and inclusion”.
That typically includes content with managers, players and supporters to celebrate LGBTQ+ communities. One example this year was Southampton and England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale speaking out on the challenges faced by his brother, Oliver, who is openly gay.
Why has it proved a talking point this year?
Morsy’s decision not to wear a rainbow armband for Ipswich’s 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday made him the only one of 20 captains in the Premier League not to do so. A club statement, released on Monday, confirmed the “religious beliefs” of Morsy, a Muslim, had been behind the step, with Ipswich saying they would “respect” the midfielder’s actions.
Also on Saturday, Guehi, a devout Christian, wore the rainbow armband in the 1-1 draw with Newcastle United after having written ”I (heart) Jesus” across it. Doing so contravened the Football Association’s rules banning any religious messaging being carried on playing kits.
By chance, Morsy and Guehi were on opposing teams on Tuesday night as Palace won 1-0 away to Ipswich. Morsy again chose not to wear the rainbow armband, while Guehi had changed the written message on his to “Jesus (heart) you”.
Speaking to Sky Sports on Wednesday, Guehi explained his thinking behind writing the messages.
“I think the message was pretty clear, to be honest,” he said. “It’s a message of love and truth as well and a message of inclusivity, so it speaks for itself.”
On Wednesday, The Athletic revealed United’s plan to wear rainbow-themed warm-up jackets ahead of Sunday’s game with Everton was scrapped due to Mazraoui, who is Muslim, refusing to take part.
Is this the first time it has provoked controversy?
This is the second year that a Premier League side’s captain has opted against wearing the rainbow armband, after Sheffield United’s Anel Ahmedhodzic, the Bosnia and Herzegovina international defender, did so last December.
Ahmedhodzic, a Muslim, wore the standard Premier League armband for a 2-0 defeat at home to Liverpool, in what was his first game as the team’s captain. Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder told reporters after the game that he had been unaware of Ahmedhodzic’s decision, and when asked by Swedish outlet SVT Sport why he had chosen not to have a rainbow armband, the defender answered, “Guess.”
Are players allowed to not wear a rainbow armband or laces?
Neither the laces nor the armband are considered compulsory but there has been an unwritten expectation that all players help promote the campaign. No Premier League captain, until Ahmedhodzic did so, had shown any resistance to the pro-LGBTQ+ messaging.
What are the rules around footballers promoting political symbols or messages on their kits?
Doing that, in short, is prohibited by the FA, who have specific kit requirements for players at all levels of English football. “Equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images,” it outlines under Law 4.
The theory is that football, and a player’s kit, should not be used for the promotion of any beliefs, ensuring religion and politics are kept at a distance.
Those lines, though, can be blurred.
The annual poppy appeal, raising money for veterans of Britain’s armed forces, sees clubs carry the charity’s logo on their kits but James McClean, now of Wrexham in League One, has long considered it a political symbol and refused to commemorate the occasion, owing to his roots as a Catholic growing up in Northern Ireland.
“The poppy represents, for me, an entire different meaning to what it does for others,” McClean posted on Instagram in November. “Am I offended by someone wearing a poppy? No, absolutely not, what does offend me though, is having the poppy… forced upon me.”
The same stance was adopted by Nemanja Matic as a Manchester United player, because of Britain’s historic involvement in a military campaign in his homeland of Serbia.
It’s not just players either. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was fined £20,000 by the FA in 2018 for wearing a yellow ribbon — a symbol of solidarity with members of the independence movement in the Spanish region of Catalonia, where Guardiola is from, who had been arrested by Spain’s authorities — during an FA Cup tie against Wigan Athletic.
What has been the response of the football governing bodies and LGBTQ rights groups?
The FA has been in contact with Palace since Guehi wore his modified rainbow armband to remind them of the kit regulations, but no formal action will follow. Palace manager Oliver Glasner told reporters on Tuesday night he had spoken with Guehi ahead of the Ipswich game. “He’s no child. He’s an adult and he has an opinion,” said Glasner. “We respect that, and accept every opinion.”
Though the FA and Premier League are yet to make any formal comments on Morsy refusing to wear a rainbow armband or Guehi’s messaging, Stonewall released their own statement this week. “It has been incredible to see so many football teams at all levels support our Rainbow Laces campaign to make sport safer and more inclusive for all. When clubs like Ipswich Town FC show their support, it helps people feel safe and welcome both on and off the pitch,” a spokesperson said. “It is up to individuals to choose if and how they show their support for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport.”
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Is the campaign likely to keep going?
There is no indication the actions of Morsy and Guehi, or the events at Manchester United, will lead to any changes in the Premier League’s allyship with Stonewall. It has been a long-running partnership designed to welcome LGBTQ+ communities and heighten inclusivity and the resistance to the campaign has been nominal.
Ahead of this year’s event, the league’s chief executive Richard Masters suggested it remained a long-term commitment.
“There has been considerable progress to make football a more inclusive environment for the LGBTQ+ community since the Rainbow Laces campaign launched a decade ago,” Masters said. “We are determined to maintain this momentum to make sure football is welcoming for everyone and send a clear message that discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated.”
Are there equivalent campaigns in other sports?
The Rainbow Laces campaign is not confined to football in England, with Stonewall saying “over a million” people have participated since its launch 11 years ago, including elite athletes from the worlds of rugby union, rugby league and cricket.
Other countries have adopted similar initiatives and, like the Premier League, run into problems.
Clubs from French football’s top divisions wear shirts carrying rainbow colours once a season to promote LGBTQ+ causes, leading some players to make themselves unavailable for that round of games.
Midfielder Idrissa Gueye, now in the Premier League with Everton, was twice left out of Paris Saint-Germain squads after refusing to wear the modified shirt. Mauricio Pochettino, the club’s manager at the time, said in 2022 that Gueye had missed one particular match for “personal reasons” and there was support from Cheikhou Kouyate of Palace and Watford’s Ismaila Sarr (now a Palace player himself) on social media. All three play at international level for Senegal, where homosexuality is illegal.
Toulouse and Morocco forward Zakaria Aboukhlal also decided not to appear for his French club in 2023 when rainbow kits marked the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. Monaco and Mali midfielder Mohamed Camara was handed a four-match ban at the end of last season after covering up an anti-homophobia message on his shirt during a match in Ligue 1, the top division of club football in France. Amelie Oudea-Castera, the country’s sports minister, called Camara’s actions “unacceptable behaviour.”
The rainbow colours also created an issue in the NHL, North America’s top ice hockey league, last year. The NHL reversed a ban on players wrapping multi-coloured ‘Pride’ tape around their hockey sticks in support of LGBTQ+ communities.
(Top photo: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
Sports
NBA returning to China after friction between league, country: report
The relationship between the NBA and China seems to have mended.
ESPN reported late Thursday that the association will play preseason games in China, marking the NBA’s first trip there since 2019.
The Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns are said to play two preseason games there.
It has been five years since the controversy sparked by Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey led to Chinese broadcasters not airing games in the country. Morey posted on social media that he supported anti-government protests in Hong Kong.
Chinese officials wanted Morey fired in 2019 after he showed his support for the anti-government protests, leading to a disagreement with China on this issue.
In turn, Chinese broadcasts reacted by not airing two preseason games played in the country after the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets traveled to play there.
FORMER ESPN STAR ADRIAN WOJNAROWSKI EYED BY HARRIS CAMPAIGN TO ANNOUNCE TIM WALZ VP PICK: REPORT
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver revealed that the league had suffered “dramatic” financial losses due to corporate sponsors fleeing and other factors.
However, back in October, Silver said he felt a return was possible. NBA players have made numerous appearances in China over the years, despite the fractured relationship between the league and country.
The league has been under fire for its business partnerships with China for years, in part because of league-backed training camps in Xinjiang, where the government represses the Uyghur population. The United States government has deemed it genocide by China.
That was recently brought up to Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban, who posted on X that he is against “Chinese and all human rights violations.” However, he does agree with the NBA exporting its content to China because the league gets “paid for it.”
Enes Kanter Freedom, a former NBA center, testified before Congress in 2023, arguing his criticism of China’s treatment of the Uyghur people affected his NBA career. Kanter Freedom has even suggested the NBA is run by “the Chinese dictatorship.”
Fox News’ Scott Thompson and Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
Sports
Prep talk: Edison football players appreciate their coaching staff
The respect that Edison High football players have for their coaching staff is one of the positives of attending the Huntington Beach school.
From coach Jeff Grady to assistant Dave White to defensive coordinator Troy Thomas, you’re talking about three individuals who’ve had great success, know how to teach and lead. And the players know it.
“I love the coaching staff,” sophomore quarterback Sam Thomson said.
Edison is 10-4 after winning the Southern Section Division 3 championship and opens play in the Southern California state playoffs with a Division 1-A regional bowl game Saturday against Granite Hills at Huntington Beach. …
Orange Lutheran junior softball pitcher Madelyn Armendariz committed to Mississippi. …
AGBU’s basketball team in Canoga Park is 9-0 and led by senior point guard Isaiah Bennett.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Sports
Former Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin suspended from equestrian for a year over whipping scandal
Charlotte Dujardin — Team GB’s joint-most decorated female Olympian — has been suspended from equestrian for one year after “engaging in conduct contrary to the principles of horse welfare.”
The sport’s governing body, the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), confirmed on Thursday Dujardin would be suspended from competing until July 23, 2025, and fined 10,000 Swiss Francs (£8,884; $11,300).
Dujardin’s sanction comes after a video emerged in July 2024 of the double Olympic dressage champion whipping a horse repeatedly four years previously, which saw her withdraw from the Paris Olympic Games. The time already served during her provisional suspension will count towards the FEI punishment.
During the suspension period, the 39-year-old is prohibited from participating in all activities related to competitions or events under the jurisdiction of the FEI or of a National Federation.
After the video emerged in the summer, Dujardin withdrew from the Paris Games and said she had made “an error of judgement” during a coaching session. The FEI, British Equestrian Federation (BEF) and British Dressage subsequently launched a disciplinary process, with the latter two bodies reciprocating the FEI’s ban.
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The FEI added that since the video emerged, it has not received any further complaints about Dujardin’s conduct.
Dujardin said at the time that the incident was “completely out of character” and “does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils”, adding that she was “deeply ashamed” of the footage.
Charlotte Dujardin, Britain’s joint-most decorated female Olympian, has been provisionally suspended & will not compete at Paris 2024.
This video has emerged of the dressage star which she said showed her ‘making an error of judgement’. pic.twitter.com/PQ9rPQTD04
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) July 24, 2024
FEI secretary general Sabrina Ibanez said on Thursday: “It is regrettable that this case has put our sport in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, especially during a critical time leading up to the Olympic Games. Yet, despite the challenges, the FEI acted decisively by immediately opening an investigation and imposing a provisional suspension.
“These significant sanctions send a clear message that anyone, regardless of their profile, who engages in conduct that compromises the welfare of the horse will face serious consequences. We believe this outcome reaffirms the FEI’s commitment to equine welfare and to its role as guardian of our equine partners.”
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) said after the initial investigation was opened: “We welcome that this has already been referred to a relevant authority and that the FEI is investigating. We are ready to provide any support to their work, if required.”
Dujardin has won six Olympic medals across the three Games she has competed at. She won two golds in the individual and team dressage at London 2012, before defending her individual gold at Rio 2016 and winning silver in the team event. Dujardin then claimed two bronze medals at Tokyo.
Her medal haul leaves her level with cyclist Laura Kenny, who won five golds and one silver across three Games. With Kenny retiring ahead of Paris, any medal for Dujardin earlier this year would have made her Britain’s most decorated female Olympian.
Dujardin had been due to compete in the team and individual dressage in Paris.
(Top image: Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)
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