A French soccer league has issued Monaco midfielder Mohamed Camara a four-game suspension after he covered up an LGBTQ patch on his uniform during the team’s final league game earlier this month.
The Ligue de Football Professionnel announced on its website Thursday that Camara, who is from Mali, would be suspended for four games after he refused to "carry out one or more actions to raise awareness of the fight against homophobia."
During the team’s 4-0 win over Nantes on May 19, Camara covered up the patch, which had the word "homophobia" crossed out with an "X," with white tape.
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He also reportedly did not participate in the team’s pre-match group photo where the players stood before a banner with the same message. He also covered a rainbow badge on the jersey’s sleeve.
The incident prompted a fierce response from French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, who called for immediate action from the league.
"Homophobia is not an opinion, it is a crime. And homophobia kills," she said on X, according to a translation of the post. "Exemplary sanctions must be imposed against Mohamed Camara"
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According to the BBC, all teams in Ligue 1 wore the patches on their jerseys during that weekend’s matches as part of the league’s initiative.
Monaco coach Adi Hutter said after the match that the soccer club supports the initiative but would not comment in detail about Camara’s actions.
"For his part, it was a personal initiative. There will be an internal discussion with him about this situation. I will not comment further," he said at the time, via the BBC.
According to that report, the Malian Football Federation released a statement in support of Camara, adding that "players are citizens like any others, whose fundamental rights must be protected in all circumstances."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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