- Mohamed Camara hid a badge against homophobia on the last day of Ligue 1
- Monaco apologized and the Mali Federation supported its position.
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Monaco apologized after a Muslim player taped an anti-homophobia badge to his kit, but the Mali Football Association backed their stance.
Mohamed Camara cited “religious reasons” for refusing to participate in the initiative during Monaco’s 4-0 victory over Nantes on the final day of the Ligue 1 season.
He also refused to be photographed in front of a pro-LGBTQ+ banner before the match and covered a rainbow logo over the Ligue 1 crest on his sleeve.
Players had to pose in front of a banner endorsing the “International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia.”
However, the Mali Federation published a statement supporting the player “in the exercise of his freedom of expression”, adding: “Players are citizens like any other whose fundamental rights must be protected in all circumstances.”
Monaco apologized after Mohamed Camara refused to participate in pro-LGBTQ+ campaign
Camara taped an anti-homophobia badge to the front of his anti-Nantes uniform
The players had to stand in front of a banner against homophobia (in the photo from the Lille-Nice match)
Monaco general manager Thiago Scuro said: “As an organisation, we support the league. Yesterday morning I called the general director of the LFP (governing body of Ligue 1 and 2), Arnaud Rouger, to apologize.
‘Mo has his religious reasons for doing what he did. As you can imagine, it is a very delicate topic to discuss since we have to respect religion.
‘We, as a club, are very sad about this episode. We hope to show this and show that we do not support it. We will manage it internally. What happened this year will not happen again. This episode should not damage the club’s reputation.
“It doesn’t represent who we are as AS Monaco. We are not afraid of punishment. It could happen but we hope not. It doesn’t seem fair to punish the entire organization, but I respect opinions.”
French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera has called for both the player and the club to face sanctions.
“It is unacceptable behavior,” he told radio station RTL. “I had the opportunity to tell the Ligue de Professionnel (LFP) what I thought about it and I believe that such behavior should be subject to the most severe sanctions against the player and the club that allowed it to happen.”
Camara has gained support in Mali for defending his faith.
Meanwhile, Monaco coach Adi Hutter said: “First of all, we as a club certainly support the league’s initiative.” It was a personal initiative of Mo Camara.
Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro (left) apologized to Ligue 1’s governing body but insisted the club must “respect religion”
French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera called for sanctions, while the Mali Federation expressed its support for Camara.
The final day of French football has been a sticking point for players in the past
‘We will have this conversation with Mo internally. We will discuss this situation internally. “I wore the badges during the game and I support the league’s initiative.”
The incident involving Monaco was not the only one spotted by fans last weekend.
When Lille faced Nice, former Spurs star Nabil Bentaleb appeared to avoid taking part in the pre-match photo in front of the anti-homophobia campaign banner. The former Newcastle loanee bent down to tie his shoelace to avoid being part of a team photo, a moment captured by live television cameras.
At the end of last season, Toulouse’s Zakaria Aboukhlal and Nantes’ Mostafa Mohamed were left out of the matchday squad after refusing to take part in the campaign against homophobia. Guimgamp’s Donatien Gomis was also ruled out of a Ligue 2 clash.
Monaco finished second in Ligue 1 this season to qualify for the Champions League.