During matchweeks 13 and 14 of the season, the Premier League partners with LGBT charity Stonewall for Rainbow Laces, a campaign to promote LGBT acceptance in soccer, both on the field and in the stands. In practice, this entails some minor cosmetic changes around England's top flight. The league provides clubs with rainbow corner flags, ball plinths, as well as handshake and substitute boards. Most notably, club captains during these games are given the option to wear a rainbow-colored armband, which they are free to decline. This is very much a bare minimum campaign by the Premier League, and one that it has backed away from somewhat; per The Athletic, the league cut the funding of its partnership with Stonewall by about half last December.
However, even the bare minimum is too much for some, which brings us to Crystal Palace captain and England international Marc Guéhi. During Saturday's home match against Newcastle United, which ended in a 1-1 draw, Guéhi wore a rainbow armband that had "I ♡ Jesus" written on it in marker (pictured above). In Palace's next game, a 1-0 away win against Ipswich Town, Guéhi once again wore the rainbow armband, this time with "Jesus ♡ You" written on it.
Let's put aside Guéhi's goals with both messages for a second. England's Football Association forbids players from displaying political or religious messaging in their attire for games. Fans may recall when the rule was enforced back in 2018, when the FA fined Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola for appearing on the sideline of a match wearing a yellow ribbon in support of the Catalonia independence movement.
Following Guéhi's first armband alteration over the weekend, the league sent him an official reminder of the rule in lieu of punishment. Just three days later, Guéhi repeated the stunt, and the league once again offered a limp response, issuing a formal warning and yet another reminder of the rules. The Ipswich match was Palace's final one of the season with the Rainbow Laces program in place, so Guéhi essentially got off scot-free.
In an interview with Sky Sports on Wednesday, Guéhi offered an unsurprisingly coy explanation of his gesture. "I think the message was pretty clear, to be honest. It was a message of love, of truth as well, and a message of inclusivity. So I think it speaks for itself." As Sky's own host said after airing the clip, Guéhi's "explanation" doesn't actually explain anything, which is of course the point. Like an athlete wearing a MAGA hat on the field or hitting the Trump dance after scoring a goal, this tactic of doing something to get a reaction and then refusing to own up to it is well-established for those who want to have their bigoted cake and eat it too.
In that roundabout way, Guéhi's non-explanation does indeed help clarify what he meant. A generous reading of his doctored armband would see it as him expressing that there is in fact no conflict between being an LGBT ally and being a Christian. But by saying that his "clear" message "speaks for itself," he all but confirms that the reactionary intent everyone initially took it for was the right one. Guéhi's father John, a church minister, offered a more forthright read on what his son likely meant in an interview with the Daily Mail after the first incident. According to John, who said he hadn't yet spoken directly with his son about it, the writing was a way to "balance" the league's pro-LGBT messaging, as he feels that the LGBT community is "trying to impose on what others believe in." He went on to say that Guéhi was essentially saying, "You gave me the armband, as a Christian I don't believe in your cause, but I will put it on."
To be clear, the cause Guéhi purportedly doesn't believe in is, by Rainbow Laces' definition, to "[encourage] LGBT+ acceptance among children and young people involved in community and education initiatives such as Premier League Primary Stars and Premier League Kicks, and within Academies." Which presumably means Guéhi did all this to make clear that he doesn't "believe" soccer should be a safe, welcoming, enjoyable place for everyone. How loving, truthful, and inclusive of him.
Asked about Guéhi's armband ploy, Palace manager Oliver Glasner said a whole bunch of nothing to provide cover for his player:
Oh yes. We respect every single players and especially Marc as our captain. Marc had a fantastic game today. Everyone who knows him knows he is a fantastic player, a great guy. He is very humble, and we shouldn’t make it bigger than it is, keep it calm, he is very respectful to everyone in the club.
[...]
We spoke about it. He’s no child, he’s an adult and he has his opinion. We respect and accept every opinion. This is the quote of this campaign is being tolerant and Marc is tolerant so everything is fine.
That Guéhi's manager tried to help cover his captain's ass is to be expected, and really, so is the FA's refusal to enforce its own rules in the matter. Sports teams and leagues around the world love showy but empty gestures toward courting marginalized communities' wallets, and are quick to reveal how hollow that commitment is after even the slightest push. After years of Kick It Out campaigns and No Room For Racism badges and pregame kneels—the latter of which Premier League players agreed to quit doing a couple years ago, in part out of the realization that it had become coopted and toothless—the league still doesn't care enough to eradicate racial abuse of its players. Is it any surprise that the Prem would muster an even weaker defense of the LGBT community?
The league and the FA want to be viewed as progressive and inclusive, but only if no one is paying attention to all the ways that they fail to be either of those things. Giving Guéhi a reminder after the first time is fine; essentially ignoring it a second time in order to not offend anyone who might agree with Guéhi's beliefs is cowardice. He's entitled to those beliefs, but the FA should not provide him cover for exhibiting them in a way that is at best confrontational and at worst openly hostile to the aims of the Premier League's campaign. By refusing to give Guéhi even a slap on the wrist for his open flouting of its rules, the FA gave a slap in the face to anyone who believed the FA was capable of better—a belief that probably won't last long.
