Nemanja Matic, a former midfielder for Chelsea and Manchester United, has replied to his multi-game suspension for hiding an LGBTQ+ emblem on his Lyon uniform. As part of Ligue 1’s effort to combat discrimination, the Serbian midfielder received harsh criticism for covering an anti-homophobia insignia on his jersey with tape.
Matic Responds to Homophobia Ban
The Premier League winner has accepted his punishment
According to a formal statement issued by a Ligue 1 representative on Friday, Matic accepted the suspension and promised to take part in an anti-homophobia awareness campaign throughout the next six months.
“In addition, the committee proposed to the player – who immediately accepted at the meeting – that he take part, within six months, in a campaign to raise awareness of the fight against homophobia in football.”
Because of his contract status with the Ligue 1 team, it is currently unknown if either of these will apply to the midfield player. The former Benfica player’s contract is scheduled to expire at the end of June, and neither he nor the Lyon management have made any decisions regarding whether to extend it through the upcoming campaign.
It is unclear whether he would intend to keep on with the awareness campaign if he were to leave and his punishment did not transfer to his new team.
League officials have previously imposed a comparable penalty for the same offenses. Mohamed Camara, 25, a midfielder for Monaco at the time, was given a four-match suspension last season for tape over an anti-homophobia badge on his shirt. Mostafa Mohamed, 27, a forward for Nantes and Egypt, withdrew from his team’s crucial relegation match against Montpellier on the last day of the season, citing the anti-homophobia campaign as the cause.
The forward wrote on social media, “I believe in mutual respect – the respect we owe others but also the respect we owe to ourselves and our beliefs.” “For me, there are deep-rooted values linked to my background and my beliefs that make my participation in this initiative difficult.”
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