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Crystal Palace captain and England international, Marc Guehi, has avoided disciplinary action from the English Football Association (FA), despite breaching the Premier League regulations. The defender wrote a religious message on his rainbow armband to celebrate LGBTQ+ during Crystal Palace's Premier League outing against Newcastle United on 30 November, which ended up in a 1-1 draw.
The series of events
Marc Guehi wrote religious messages on his captain's armband in Crystal Palace's dedicated 'Rainbow Laces' Premier League game against Newcastle United. Being a devoted Christian, he wrote "I love Jesus" on the armband for the game on 30 November 2024, which caught the eyes of the FA.
Significantly, Guehi did not write the word 'love' on the rainbow armband but he used a love sign instead. However, Guehi was warned about violating regulations regarding on-field slogans. Despite this warning, the 24-year-old defender proceeded to write "Jesus 'hearts' you" on his rainbow armband during the very next match against Ipswich Town on 4 December 2024.
The regulation regarding slogans says:
Equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans. For any offence, the player and/or the team will be sanctioned by the competition organiser, the national association or by FIFA
The FA again warned Crystal Palace regarding the existing kit regulations. However, despite a second breach of the rule, they have decided against taking any measure.
Marc Guehi spoke to Sky Sports and explained his intentions behind the messages he wrote.
The message was pretty clear, to be honest. It was a message of love, of truth as well, and a message of inclusivity. So I think it speaks for itself,
Following the 1-0 victory against Ipswich on Tuesday, Palace manager Oliver Glasner commented regarding this issue in a post-match interview:
We respect every single player, especially Marc, who is our captain. He is a great guy, very humble and we shouldn't make it bigger than it is, he is very respectful to everyone in the club.
In football we are all against discrimination, it's a great campaign. We spoke about it, we speak often as he is my captain.
He is no child, he is an adult, he has his opinion and we accept and respect every opinion. The quote of this campaign is to be tolerant and Marc is very tolerant.
Recent rejections against LGBTQ+ celebrations from the Premier League players
The Premier League and FA partnered with Stonewall, an LGBTQ+ charity, to promote inclusivity and diversity in football. As part of their 'Rainbow Laces' campaign, all 20 Premier League clubs were provided with rainbow-colored captain armbands to wear during matches last weekend and this week. This initiative, which began in 2013, aims to raise awareness and support for the LGBTQ+ community within the sport.
However, there has been some recent displeasure the players have expressed due to their own opinions and beliefs. Ipswich Town's captain Sam Morsy was the only Premier League captain who did not wear the rainbow armband during the campaign in their recent PL outings against Nottingham Forest, and Crystal Palace. Ipswich stated that Morsy is a practicing Muslim and he did not wear the armband due to his religious beliefs. However, FA did not take any action as wearing the rainbow armband has not been mandatory.
On the other hand, Manchester United reportedly canceled plans to wear the special jackets supporting the LGBTQ+ community for their Premier League match against Everton on 1 December 2024; after one of their players refused to participate in the initiative. According to the Athletic, the player was Noussair Mazraoui who refused to wear the jackets due to his religious beliefs. United refused to confirm the identity of the player.
