France’s sports minister has called for Monaco football club to be sanctioned after one of its players covered a message against homophobia on the team’s jersey during the final league match on Sunday.
The French championship staged its annual campaign against discrimination during this weekend’s final phase, with each team wearing a badge with the word “homophobia” crossed out.
However, Monaco midfielder Mohamed Camara covered the badge during his team’s 4–0 win over Nantes, and also boycotted the pre-match group photo where all players stood in front of a banner bearing the same message.
French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra called Camara’s actions “unacceptable” and called for “firm sanctions” against the player and the club. Aurore Bergé, French Minister of Equal Opportunities, also condemned Mohamed Camara on social networks. “Homophobia is not an opinion, it is a crime,” she wrote on X. “And homophobia kills. Mohamed Camara must be severely punished. ”
Monaco coach Adi Hütter said after the match that the club supported the league’s initiative and that Camara’s actions were “a personal choice”. The club said it would discuss the situation with Camara internally.
This is the fourth consecutive season that French professional clubs have been invited to use rainbow-coloured numbers, armbands or badges on their jerseys to support the LGBTQ movement. Every year, similar controversies arise.
In 2022, Everton’s Senegalese-born midfielder Idrissa Gueye, who was then playing for PSG, refused to take part in a match where players were required to wear rainbow-coloured jerseys. Senegalese President Macky Sall had supported Gueye, declaring that “his religious convictions must be respected”.
Last year, Nantes fined Egyptian striker Mostafa Mohamed for similar reasons. The latter did not participate in Sunday’s match. Mohamed Camara did not play in the equivalent match last season.
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