Marc Guehi breaks his silence after being reprimanded by the FA for writing TWO messages on his rainbow armband
- Marc Guehi wrote two messages on his rainbow armband over the past week
- The Crystal Palace star has explained his reasoning behind writing the messages
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Marc Guehi has spoken out to explain his actions after twice writing on his rainbow armband in recent days.
As part of the Premier League‘s Rainbow Laces campaign to support the LGBTQ+ community, top-flight captains were given rainbow armbands to wear for last weekend’s and the ongoing midweek round of fixtures.
Guehi, who is the son of a church minister, opted to scrawl the message ‘I love Jesus’ on his armband for Crystal Palace‘s 1-1 draw with Newcastle, and was subsequently reprimanded by the FA.
Despite being reminded of kit regulations, Guehi chose to write a new message – ‘Jesus loves you’ – ahead of Palace’s 1-0 win at Ipswich on Tuesday night.
Guehi will not face punishment for doubling down on his stance, and has now revealed the intended meaning behind his two messages.
‘I think the message was pretty clear to be honest,’ Guehi told Sky Sports. ‘It was a message of love and truth as well, and a message of inclusivity so I think it speaks for itself.’
Marc Guehi wrote ‘I love Jesus’ on his rainbow armband for Crystal Palace’s draw with Newcastle
He then wrote ‘Jesus loves you’ for Palace’s 1-0 win at Ipswich on Tuesday night
Guehi has now explained why he wrote the messages on the rainbow armband this week
Guehi was not the only Premier League captain to cause controversy over the past two games, as Ipswich skipper Sam Morsy refused to wear the armband at all due to his religious beliefs.
Morsy is a practising Muslim, and was backed by his club for not wearing the rainbow armband, but Ipswich insisted they still ‘proudly support’ the Premier League’s campaign.
Morsy was not reprimanded by the FA, leading to Guehi’s father, John, accusing the FA of double standards.
John exclusively told MailOnline on Tuesday: ‘I am saying did he offend anyone? I don’t think so. I do believe in what the Bible says, Jesus loves everyone, and, in my opinion, Marc did not offend anyone with what he wrote.
‘Jesus loved everyone therefore by saying “I love Jesus” on his armband I really don’t see what is offensive and what the problem is.
‘If you look at what the LGBT community are doing, they are trying to impose on others what they believe in, it’s belief against belief, but at the end of the day everyone has the right to an opinion.
‘But if that opinion’s aim is to offend you then there is a problem but if my opinion is just to express what I feel then I think that is fine and I don’t think what Marc wrote on that armband is offensive.
‘He is talking about him, he loves Jesus and like I said he didn’t refuse to wear that armband, like Morsy, people should pay more attention to the person who refused to wear it.
Ipswich captain Sam Morsy refused to wear the armband, but wasn’t reprimanded like Guehi was
Guehi’s father John (left)accused the FA of double standards for reprimanding his son and not Morsy
It has also emerged that Man United’s Noussair Mazraoui refused to wear a rainbow jacket on Sunday
‘Marc said “Yes” and did the right thing by wearing it but people are having a go at him for what he wrote, he accepted to wear the armband, he was just trying to balance the message.
‘He was saying “You gave me the armband, as a Christian I don’t believe in your cause, but I will put it on” but Morsy didn’t put it on because he said it was against his religion but more seems to be being said about Marc than him.
‘We are so thick skinned in this country, God is everywhere in this country, and I know things change because of different beliefs but it is still a Christian country. Therefore, I don’t see what is offensive.
‘He is a devout Christian; the son of a church minister and he accepted to put the arm band on to welcome everyone in football but the problem we have now is that players are being used as spokespeople now.’
It also emerged on Wednesday that Manchester United ditched plans to wear rainbow jackets for their warm-up ahead of their 4-0 win over Everton on Sunday after devout Muslim player Noussair Mazraoui chose not to wear it.
It is understood that Mazraoui’s refusal to wear the rainbow jacket divided his teammates.
The Rainbow Laces campaign is set to continue for the rest of the midweek round of fixtures, which concludes with two top-flight matches on Thursday night.
