Translator: Bi’ Dünya Haber
Zakaria Aboukhlal, a Moroccan footballer playing for Toulouse in France’s Ligue 1, and Mustafa Muhammed, who wears the jersey of Nantes, declined to wear an LGBT+ themed jersey during a match.
The French League initiated a campaign recently, in which all teams in the first and second divisions played their matches wearing jerseys with rainbow-colored numbers. However, prior to the Toulouse-Nantes match, Zakaria Aboukhlal and Mustafa Muhammed were excluded from the squad and fined due to their personal beliefs that prevented them from supporting such a theme. Mustafa Muhammed, who had previously played in Turkey and was loaned from Galatasaray to Nantes, expressed his thoughts on Twitter:
I respect all beliefs, and the respect I have for beliefs includes the expectation that my beliefs will also be respected. Due to my origins, culture, and faith, I cannot participate in this campaign. I do not wish to engage in further discussion on this matter and I expect everyone to respect my decision.
Following Mustafa Muhammed’s stance rooted in his Muslim beliefs, ultrAslan, the largest fan organization of Galatasaray, released a statement in support of him. Fans also shared messages of support on social media with the hashtag “Mustafa Muhammed is not alone.”
