Ligue 1 to abandon rainbow shirts despite continued LGBTQ support

France’s LFP, the body in charge of organising Ligue 1, is reportedly set to abandon the rainbow shirts that caused controversy last season and will find a new way to raise awareness against homophobia. 

Teams in Ligue 1 and Ligue 1 have worn rainbow designs on their shirts for the last three seasons for one match day in May, but the decision has regularly stirred up controversy, especially among players who did not agree with the jerseys. 

Last season, several players, including Toulouse FC’s Zakaria Aboukhlal and FC Nantes’ Mostafa Mohamed, were unwilling to wear the rainbow-themed jerseys, which caused problems for their teams, who had to play important relegation deciders without them. 

According to RMC Sport, the league organisers will now explore alternative ways to express support for the LGBTQ community. 

LFP also released a statement, reiterating its commitment to raising awareness about marginalised communities, saying that they were “currently preparing for the days dedicated to the fight against racism in March and then the fight against homophobia next May. 

“A meeting is scheduled for mid-November with the partner associations to prepare these two days.” 

The matchday where LFP teams will raise awareness against homophobia will come at a date closest to the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, which is on 17th May.