The English Football Association (FA) is issuing a warning to one of its players after he wrote “I Love Jesus” over his league-mandated rainbow flag Captain armband.
Crystal Palace team captain Marc Guehi, a devout Christian whose father is a minister, escaped a formal charge and is being issued a formal warning by the FA after he wore the rainbow armband overwritten with his personal expression of faith during a match on Saturday.
The armbands were issued by Premier League clubs to show support for LGBTQ+ inclusion in Stonewall’s “Rainbow Laces” campaign between November 29 and December 5.
While Guehi was under threat of discipline from the league, another league player, practicing Muslim Sam Morsy, who refused to wear a rainbow armband, escaped criticism from the association.
According to Rule A4 of the FA’s regulations, religious messaging on player equipment or uniforms is prohibited, adding “for any offence the player and/or the team will be sanctioned by the competition organizer, national football association or by FIFA (the International Federation of Association Football).”
“The issue was a potentially thorny one for the FA, however, as the rainbow armband itself was part of a campaign in support of the LGBTQ+ community,” The Times’ Martyn Ziegler noted. “Ipswich Town said their captain, Sam Morsy, declined to wear a rainbow armband last weekend because of his religious beliefs, but the FA said that is not a breach of its regulations.”
“So the FA were completely FINE with Sam Morsy, a Muslim, refusing to wear an LGBT armband,” political commentator Alex Armstrong fumed on X.
“But when Marc Guehi wrote ‘I love Jesus’ on his armband and STILL WORE IT, the FA gives him a warning,” he continued.
“Why are (there) two-tier rules? One for Muslims and another (for) Christians?” Armstrong asked.
Armstrong wasn’t the only one pointing to the FA’s dual standards.
“Punishing him for his beliefs whilst forcing him to wear an ‘inclusion’ rainbow?” another X user noted.
“Make it makes sense. F—ing idiots.”
Punishing him for his beliefs whilst forcing him to wear an “inclusion” rainbow? 🤣
— Ken 🦅 (@KennyCPFC) December 3, 2024
Make it makes sense. Fucking idiots.#CPFC #MarcGuehi pic.twitter.com/a3gekLnaZO
“I’ve grown up loving God and when I have had the chance I still go to church with my family, and my faith is definitely a big part of my life,” Guehi told The Athletic in 2021. “Faith is everything that I’m involved with, really; even in football, where I’m trying to be a role model and show God’s graciousness and God’s glory through my life.”