Latest news with #anti-homophobia


CNN
4 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Soccer players given two-game bans after concealing anti-homophobia badge
Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Nemanja Matic and Le Havre striker Ahmed Hassan have each been handed two-game bans with a further two matches suspended after they concealed Ligue 1's anti-homophobia insignia on their shirts, the French top-flight said. Serbian Matic, 36, had put on a tape over the anti-homophobia badge when he came on as a substitute during Lyon's 2-0 home win over Angers on May 17, which was the final day of the Ligue 1 season. His Lyon contract is set to expire at the end of the month. Egyptian Hassan, 32, also received the same punishment, with the incident having occurred during Le Havre's 3-2 win at Strasbourg. 'In addition, the committee proposed to the player - who immediately accepted at the meeting - that he take part, within six months, in a campaign to raise awareness of the fight against homophobia in football…' Ligue 1 said in a statement on Thursday. Ligue 1 had planned for players to wear rainbow-coloured symbols on shirts or armbands and display messages in stadiums as part of its annual awareness drive. Yet participation has been uneven in recent years, with some players citing personal or religious reasons for opting out.


CNN
4 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Soccer players given two-game bans after concealing anti-homophobia badge
Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Nemanja Matic and Le Havre striker Ahmed Hassan have each been handed two-game bans with a further two matches suspended after they concealed Ligue 1's anti-homophobia insignia on their shirts, the French top-flight said. Serbian Matic, 36, had put on a tape over the anti-homophobia badge when he came on as a substitute during Lyon's 2-0 home win over Angers on May 17, which was the final day of the Ligue 1 season. His Lyon contract is set to expire at the end of the month. Egyptian Hassan, 32, also received the same punishment, with the incident having occurred during Le Havre's 3-2 win at Strasbourg. 'In addition, the committee proposed to the player - who immediately accepted at the meeting - that he take part, within six months, in a campaign to raise awareness of the fight against homophobia in football…' Ligue 1 said in a statement on Thursday. Ligue 1 had planned for players to wear rainbow-coloured symbols on shirts or armbands and display messages in stadiums as part of its annual awareness drive. Yet participation has been uneven in recent years, with some players citing personal or religious reasons for opting out.


CNN
4 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Soccer players given two-game bans after concealing anti-homophobia badge
Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Nemanja Matic and Le Havre striker Ahmed Hassan have each been handed two-game bans with a further two matches suspended after they concealed Ligue 1's anti-homophobia insignia on their shirts, the French top-flight said. Serbian Matic, 36, had put on a tape over the anti-homophobia badge when he came on as a substitute during Lyon's 2-0 home win over Angers on May 17, which was the final day of the Ligue 1 season. His Lyon contract is set to expire at the end of the month. Egyptian Hassan, 32, also received the same punishment, with the incident having occurred during Le Havre's 3-2 win at Strasbourg. 'In addition, the committee proposed to the player - who immediately accepted at the meeting - that he take part, within six months, in a campaign to raise awareness of the fight against homophobia in football…' Ligue 1 said in a statement on Thursday. Ligue 1 had planned for players to wear rainbow-coloured symbols on shirts or armbands and display messages in stadiums as part of its annual awareness drive. Yet participation has been uneven in recent years, with some players citing personal or religious reasons for opting out.


BBC News
5 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Matic given ban for covering anti-homophobia sign
Lyon midfielder Nemanja Matic has been handed a two-match ban after covering an anti-homophobia message on his shirt with Serb, 36, concealed an anti-homophobia display on his sleeve during Lyon's 2-0 win over Angers on 17 anti-homophobia message is part of a Ligue 1 campaign which is now in its fifth year. Typically, players are asked to wear rainbow-coloured symbols while banners are also displayed in former Manchester United and Chelsea midfielder Matic and Le Havre striker Ahmed Hassan, 32, both covered the messages on their sleeves with tape. Ligue 1 issued the pair with two-match bans and a further two matches suspended. Matic's contract with Lyon expires at the end of June and he is yet to agree new terms with the French club. The annual awareness campaign has been met with resistance in recent years, with some players citing religious beliefs for choosing not to take and Egypt forward Mostafa Mohamed, 27, withdrew from his side's crunch relegation-decider against Montpellier on the final day of the season."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 season, the then-Monaco midfielder Mohamed Camara, 25, was banned for four matches for taping over an anti-homophobia logo on his 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".


Reuters
5 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Reuters
Lyon's Matic, Le Havre's Hassan given two-game bans after concealing Ligue 1's anti-homophobia badge
June 6 (Reuters) - Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Nemanja Matic and Le Havre striker Ahmed Hassan have each been handed two-game bans with a further two matches suspended after they concealed Ligue 1's anti-homophobia insignia on their shirts, the French top-flight said. Serbian Matic, 36, had put on a tape over the anti-homophobia badge when he came on as a substitute during Lyon's 2-0 home win over Angers on May 17 which was the final day of the Ligue 1 season. His Lyon contract is set to expire at the end of the month. Egyptian Hassan, 32, also received the same punishment, with the incident having occurred during Le Havre's 3-2 win at Strasbourg. "In addition, the committee proposed to the player - who immediately accepted at the meeting - that he take part, within six months, in a campaign to raise awareness of the fight against homophobia in football..." Ligue 1 said in a statement on Thursday. Ligue 1 had planned for players to wear rainbow-coloured symbols on shirts or armbands and display messages in stadiums as part of its annual awareness drive. Yet participation has been uneven in recent years, with some players citing personal or religious reasons for opting out.