Oliver Glasner defends Marc Guehi over rainbow armband as Crystal Palace and Ipswich captains urged to clarify LGBTQ+ position

12/03/2024 06:28 PM

Oliver Glasner insists Marc Guehi is ‘against discrimination and any abuse’ when quizzed on the player’s decision to write on his rainbow armband.

The Crystal Palace defender – who is the son of church minister – wrote ‘I love Jesus’ on the Stonewall armband in his side’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle last weekend.

After being warned by the Football Association for the message, he wrote ‘Jesus loves you’ with a smiley face on his rainbow armband at Portman Road for his side’s 1-0 over Ipswich on Tuesday.

The armbands are sent to clubs to be given to Premier League captains to wear in games to show support for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport against Newcastle.

Glasner was asked about his captain’s decision when speaking to Amazon after the game.

“I think we should calm it down,” he said. “Everybody knows Marc, everyone knows he is a great player, he is a great personality. He is a very humble guy.

“He wore this. It’s LGBT and everyone now is about integration, no discrimination and Marc as well. I think we all have the same opinion.

“We are in sports and in sports we are always against discrimination and any kind of abuse, and Marc as well.”

According to the International Football Association Board (IFAB), ‘initiative slogans/emblems promoting the game of football, respect and integrity’ are permitted.

However, it is forbidden to have ‘political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images’ written anywhere.

Ipswich captain Sam Morsy has also been in focus after choosing to ditch the rainbow armband totally, with the Tractor Boys citing his religious beliefs as his reason for refusing to wear it.

Egypt international Morsy is a practising Muslim.

Speaking about the pair’s decisions regarding the rainbow armbands, talkSPORT’s GameDay host Adrian Durham said on Tuesday night: “What is Morsy’s message to any gay fans or players as captain of Ipswich Town Football Club? What’s he trying to say to them?

“That needs to be clarified and if it doesn’t align with Ipswich’s club policy or the Premier League policy then Ipswich Town have a problem they need to resolve. They need to ask if their captain’s fit for the job of fulfilling all the roles required of him as a captain.

“Being a captain is more than tossing a coin in the centre circle before the game. It’s more than just shouting at your teammates. It’s about representing the club. So does your captain not wearing the armband reflect the feeling of the club?

“Has Kieran McKenna thought that through properly? Why not make someone else captain for the games with the rainbow armband?
So Morsi’s message to the LGBTQ community needs to be clarified and then Ipswich need to move forward from there.

“Same with Guehi who has written all over the rainbow armband. If Guehi’s aim was to deface and therefore devalue the message of the rainbow armband and the rainbow laces campaign then we need to ask why he would do that. Can he explain that to Stonewall?

“Could he explain that face to face with a gay Palace fan I wonder? If his message is that he’s worn the armband and supports the campaign but at the same time he loves Jesus then actually I’m okay with that. Not sure why he had to write all over the armband though.

“In both cases, as Premier League captains, they both need to make their position clear and if that then means they have to give up the captaincy because they’re not fit for the role within the club then so be it.”

Former Lionesses star and current talkSPORT co-host Lianne Sanderson agreed the captains need to come out and clarify their position.

“It’s interesting because I think people have a freedom of speech,” she said. “They can say whatever they want and people can say, ‘oh you know they shouldn’t have to wear it if they wanted to’. I think Marc Guehi equally similar to Morsy. I think they’re both in the wrong if I’m being honest.

“Marc Guehi doing that I think it was wrong. I think you know him putting you know I love Jesus on his armband. It’s an interesting one because I’m not really a religious person, Adrian.

“But I think it depends on someone’s perception of the bible and I think that’s where he’s going with that. And I love the fact that you’ve said these things Adrian because people don’t want to talk about these types of things.

“I think it’s easy for people to say, ‘oh yeah you would say that because you’re gay’ but that’s not the reality and I agree it’s how people feel. Now I don’t think someone needs to wear an armband all the time to prove they support our community.

“I want campaigns to be longer than a month to be honest and I think sometimes it is very much tokenism but it does hurt our community when players don’t want to do that. Now you’re in England and that’s the campaign so do that. The same as when I go to Qatar I respect that culture.

“Qataris love me. Yes there might be different people who have different opinions about those situations but I respect that culture. So I think you know it’s a massive kick in the teeth that they did this but I think with Marc Guehi doing that he was proving a point.

“So I think they do need to come out and have something to say. I really do. They’re leaders of the club and you’re right. It’s not just about you know tossing the coin in the centre circle.

“It’s much more than that and I think it does affect our community and it’s unfortunate that people still feel this way. Wearing an armband like when I saw John McGinn wearing it the other night I was like, ‘that’s actually really powerful’ but I thought the days were gone Adrian where this would be a talking point because it’s just an armband but it means so much to our community.

“So I have a split like opinion on it with regards to whether I think players should have to do X, Y and Z I think they should want to do it, if I’m being honest.”

And former England striker Dean Ashton thinks Guehi and Morsy’s moves have detracted from the positive impact that Stonewall’s campaign with the Premier League does have.

However, he believes their moves don’t signify ‘standing absolutely against’ LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport.

“Well I think it’s such a great point about the captaincy itself because ultimately that is who we’re looking at,” Ashton said. “We’re looking at two players. We’re not looking at the 11 players. We’re looking at the captains because of what that armband represents certainly with this campaign and therefore if you choose to either not wear it or you write on it you are effectively making a point with that.

“But I also think at the same time if you have to sort of take into account the fact that some certain players have had for their whole life and it might be part of their religion.

“If they choose not to do something there will be other players that aren’t the captains that maybe fall in the middle where they maybe don’t want to openly support a campaign but that doesn’t mean that they ultimately are totally against it.

“So I think we have sometimes got to be careful that just because somebody doesn’t do something that automatically means they are making a stand absolutely against it. But at the same time I think you’re right there has to be some clarity.

“If they are going to do that then I think it is really important for everybody to understand why and then have a perspective on it. At the moment it’s just up in the air and left for everybody to guess.

“Then it makes it about that rather than lots of other players that are more than happy – we talked about John McGinn – and other players that are happy to openly support the campaign and that’s then kind of missed.”

Durham concluded: “I agree the clarification of the individual standpoint is everything and I do believe it’s easily resolved that if a captain doesn’t want to wear it then you give it to another player who does want to wear it and he becomes the captain.”

Jean-Philippe Mateta’s goal and Palace’s 1-0 win lifts them out of the Premier League’s relegation zone.