France wants to sanction football players for rejecting LGBTQ jerseys

A number of professional football players in France have drawn the ire of the nation’s sports ministry for refusing to take part in an annual league-wide anti-homophobia campaign, French media have reported. Over the weekend, all teams in France’s Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 divisions were required to wear uniforms featuring rainbow-colored numbers on the back as part of the initiative. However, players from several clubs, including Toulouse FC’s Zakaria Aboukhlal and Nantes’ Mostafa Mohamed, were omitted from the roster after they refused to wear the jerseys. Aboukhlal, who is Moroccan, wrote on social media that he “made the decision not to take part in the match” over the weekend and noted that he had “the highest regard for each individual, without judging their personal preferences, gender, religion, or background. It is a principle.” “Respect is a value that I hold in high regard. This applies to others, but also to my own beliefs. I do not think I am the right person to participate…