Ligue 1 / Ligue 2: a new plan to fight homophobia while the abandonment of rainbow printing still divides
“Let’s get rid of homophobia!” This is the message that the Professional Football League (LFP) wants to print on all the pitches of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 for the final days of the championship. Friday May 17, the international day against homophobia, will mark the start of a broad campaign to combat this discrimination. The system, which certain associations fighting against homophobia will not join, was unveiled by the LFP. Among them, SOS Homophobia and the PanamPride Football Club denounce a significant decline in the fight. They denounce the abandonment of rainbow flocking, further proof of the difficulty of acting for the cause by satisfying all parties: LFP, clubs, players and associations.
A patch with the inscription “Homophobia” crossed out in red, the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 patch in the colors of the LGBT flag, just like the flags on the corner posts are notably part of the LFP system for this last week -end of the championship. It includes the codes of the operation carried out to combat racism, in addition to the workshops carried out throughout the year in clubs in partnership with associations such as Football Together and the Foundation for Inclusive Sport.
Not enough for certain associations which regret the reduced visibility of the colors of the LGBT cause: “This operation has the merit of existing, concedes Bertrand Lambert, president of PanamPride Football Club. But this is a fundamental step backwards which makes our colors invisible, the colors of our fight. This is something we cannot accept.” According to him, “this disappearance of rainbow flocking really proves right those who did not want to wear it”. This logo, which has the same colors as those for the day to combat racism, does not find an echo in the fight against homophobia for Bertrand Lambert: “They arrived at this black circle which can have meaning for racism. But for me, who is concerned with the fight against homophobia, it is not possible to arrive with a black badge. It has nothing to do with the LGBT cause.”he insists.
The colors of the LGBT flag will however be present on the jerseys, but only on the logo patches of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Not enough for the president of PanamPride Football Club: “This little logo, it will be visible to the players, it will not be visible to anyone else.”, he laments. He still fears that the mere presence of these colors on the jerseys will still push some players not to wear them: “We have to be very attentive to what is going to happen this weekend because, basically, we are doing this to please the players. But the jersey was presented to them and some would have said: ‘There’s still the symbol, that’s a problem for me’.”
On the LFP side, we regret the separation of these two associations: “This general public communication system is truly unique and has never been so important during our championship days. This day really fits into everything we do throughout the season, with the anti-discrimination workshops that we carry out in the clubs. We find it difficult to understand that the League is a punching bag, when we are an ally. It is the sporting body that does the most.“
- For more: Elrisala website and for social follow us on Facebook
- Source of information and images “francetvinfo“
