\n<\/p>\n
On Saturday, former Serbia midfielder Matic’s shirt and that of Egyptian Hassan had tape covering the campaign logo.<\/p>\n
Fellow Egypt international Mohamed, meanwhile, did not play in his side’s win which saw them stay in the division.<\/p>\n
“I believe in mutual respect – the respect we owe others, but also the respect we owe to ourselves and our beliefs. For me, there are deep-rooted values linked to my background and my beliefs that make my participation in this initiative difficult,” Nantes’ Mohamed said on Instagram before the match.<\/p>\n
Reports in France suggest the player will be fined by the club with the money donated to a charity fighting LGBTQ+ discrimination.<\/p>\n
“Football has a massive platform, and the [French Football] Federation is determined to put this issue on the clubs’ and supporters’ agenda,” sports minister Barsacq said.<\/p>\n
“Homophobic insults and behaviour are no longer acceptable. Society has evolved, and the language in football must change with it. There’s a full range of sanctions available, and they must be applied.”<\/p>\n
Nice full-back and France international Jonathan Clauss last week spoke about his support for the campaign but pointed out: “There will never be 100% of people who agree and the very fact that there’s a debate is a problem.”<\/p>\n
Some Toulouse players missed a match in 2023 with the club saying they had “expressed their disagreement with the association of their image with the rainbow colours representing the LGBT movement”.<\/p>\n
Then-Paris St-Germain midfielder Idrissa Gueye – now at Everton – similarly missed games<\/a> in 2021 and 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n