France's sports minister has called for sanctions against the Monaco soccer club after one of its players covered up an anti-homophobic message written on the team's shirt during Sunday's final league match. .
The French league held its annual anti-discrimination campaign during this weekend's final match, with each team wearing a badge with the word “homophobic” crossed out.
However, Monaco midfielder Mohamed Camara taped his badge during his team's 4-0 win over Nantes, and there was also a pre-match group photo in which all players stood in front of a banner with the same message. Omitted.
French Sports Minister Amélie Houdea-Castella called Camara's actions “unacceptable” and called for “firm sanctions” against both the player and the club.
French Equality Minister Aurore Bergé also criticized Camara on social media.
“Homophobia is not an opinion, it's a crime,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “And homophobia kills. Mohamed Kamara must be severely punished.”
Monaco manager Adi Hütter said after the match that the club supports the league's efforts and that Kamara's actions were a “personal choice”.
The club said it will discuss the situation internally with Kamara.
This is the fourth consecutive season that professional clubs in France have been invited to use rainbow-colored numbers, armbands or patches on their kits in support of the LGBTQ movement. Similar controversies arise every year.
In 2022, Senegalese-born Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye, then playing for PSG, refused to play in a match where players were required to wear jerseys with rainbow numbers. Senegal's President Macky Sall publicly supported Gueye, saying “his religious beliefs must be respected.”
Last year, Nantes fined Egyptian striker Mostafa Mohamed for similar reasons. Mohamed also did not play in Sunday's game. Kamara also did not play in a comparable game last season.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
