Manchester United decided not to wear Pride-themed rainbow jackets due to Muslim star Noussair Mazraoui refusing to wear one.
The United defender, 27, had declined to wear the jacket due to his Muslim faith, according to The Athletic. The tops are worn in alignment with the Rainbow Laces campaign, an initiative that shows support for all LGBTQ+ people in football.
United had worn the jackets in the past during warm up sessions. However, none of the Premier League giants’ players were seen wearing them as planned ahead of the Everton game on Sunday.
READ MORE: Roy Keane slams Marcus Rashford’s ability and ‘f*****g rubbish’ Man Utd mistake
READ MORE: Roy Keane slams Liverpool star for what he did against Newcastle as Reds drop two points
The Athletic report that to “maintain the team ethos and togetherness” and so that the Morocco international would not be singled out, the rest of the team decided they would not don the jacket. Captain Bruno Fernandes did wear the rainbow armband in United’s 4-0 win over Everton.
The Athletic continued to report that some United players were not happy with the decision. The Red Devils released a statement, although they did not name the specific player involved.
The club said: “Manchester United welcomes fans from all backgrounds, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, and we are strongly committed to the principles of diversity and inclusion. We demonstrate these principles through a range of activities, including support for our Rainbow Devils supporters’ club, and campaigns to celebrate our LGBTQ+ fans and combat all forms of discrimination.
“Players are entitled to hold their own individual opinions, particularly in relation to their faith, and these may sometimes differ from the club’s position.”
The Rainbow Devils, Man United’s LGBTQ+ supporter’s group, also declined to name the player in their statement, but expressed their “disappointment”. In a statement, they said: “We are aware of who the player concerned is, but we feel it isn’t our role to single him out, and risk spoiling positive things that the majority of those at the club have done.
Don’t miss a thing with football updates!
Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news? Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star Football email newsletter!
From the latest transfer news to breaking stories, get it all in your email inbox.
How do you sign up?
It only takes a matter of seconds.
Simply click on this link, then provide your email address and that’s it, job done. You’ll receive an email with all of the top football stories.
You can also sign up for our sport email, Off the Ball, for all the latest darts, boxing, snooker, F1 stories and more, right here
“We respect the right of this players to have his own views, whilst also feeling disappointed that he put the rest of the squad into a position where they felt that they couldn’t wear their jackets. We also worry what kind of negative effect this incident might have on any player at the club who may be struggling with their sexuality.”
This isn’t the only issue that has arisen as a part of the Premier League’s push for diversity and inclusivity. Ipswich‘s Mulsim captain Sam Morsy refused to wear the rainbow armband in any of the two matches where it was used. This was also down to his religious beliefs.
Crystal Palace skipper and England international Marc Guehi did wear his, however, the Christian star had altered it. In his first game he had written ‘I love Jesus‘ across the rainbow strip. Then, in the game against Ipswich on Tuesday, his armband said “Jesus loves you.’ The FA are not taking action on any of these cases.
(Image: Getty Images)
Mazraoui joined United in a £15million deal from Bayern Munich in the summer. Last October, he shared a video in support of Palestine on Instagram amid the conflict in Israel and Gaza, after which the German club released a statement saying he had “never meant to cause any irritation”.
Bayern said: “Noussair Mazraoui has credibly assured us that as a peace-loving person he resolutely rejects terror and war. He never meant to cause any irritation with his posts. FC Bayern condemns Hamas’ attack on Israel.”
The German side added that Mazraoui declared: “I condemn all terrorism and terrorist organisations.”