Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera asked for “the strongest sanctions” against AS Monaco player Mohamed Camara and his club for having masked the logo against homophobia plastered on his jersey during the match with straps. of Ligue 1 against Nantes. “Such behavior must be subject to the strongest sanctions both against the player, but also against the club which allowed it to happen,” she said on RTL on Monday. “AOC” judged this “unacceptable behavior. I was able to say what I thought about it to the Professional Football League (LFP),” added the minister.
During the 34th and final day of Ligue 1, Mohamed Camara, penalty scorer in the victory against Nantes (4-0), had stuck straps on the logo against homophobia flocked on his chest and worn by all the players , coaches and referees on Sunday evening, as part of a campaign to fight discrimination led by the LFP. “It’s distressing!” regrets to AFP Bertrand Lambert, of Panamboyz and Girls. “We would obviously need sanctions to signal the end of recess: can we imagine a player covering the anti-racism logo with plaster?” For Jeff Puech, co-founder of the Foundation for Inclusive Sport, this type of incident is “the exception that proves the rule”, he told AFP. “There are only two players throughout the day in L1 and L2, with the Egyptian from Nantes Mostafa Mohamed, who I think did not play for +diplomatic+ reasons. They are two players too many, but not not a single coach, not a single delegate, refused to wear the logo.
“Unacceptable” comment
“For example in Toulouse last year four players refused, this year none, we did three weeks of workshop in this club, the in-depth work pays off,” continues Puech. “We are progressing compared to last year, thanks to the change in policy of the LFP” which swapped the rainbow flocking for a logo in the same colors, like the flags on the corner posts, adds -he. Puech underlines that the LFP “is the only one in France which does a lot, I would like the other professional sports leagues to participate in a fundamental movement. But it will come”.
He also underlines “listening to the players’ union (UNFP)”. “Switching to logos was a compromise, some associations consider it a step backwards, I prefer to mention the corner posts for visibility, we see them all the time”. Puech also deemed “unacceptable” the live commentary of Prime Video consultant for the Monaco match, Jimmy Briand, who said about Mohamed Camara: “We must respect. Everyone has their convictions.” “It’s tiring… Once again, homophobia is not an opinion or a belief, it is an offense,” continued Bertrand Lambert.