Marc Guehi breaks silence after writing ‘I Love Jesus’ on LGBTQ+ rainbow armband

Footballer Marc Guehi has broken his silence with a five-word Instagram story update after courting controversy for writing a Christian message on his LGBTQ+-inclusive rainbow captain’s armband.

The 24-year-old Crystal Palace and England defender wrote “I Love Jesus” on his armband ahead of his side’s Premier League game against Newcastle United on Saturday (30 November).

Despite being warned by the FA that the message breaches the sporting body’s rule on not displaying religious symbols, Guehi – who is the son of a minister and has spoken openly about his Christian faith – subsequently wrote “Jesus [heart symbol] You” on his armband for Crystal Palace’s Tuesday (2 December) match against Ipswich Town.

The rainbow coloured armbands were given to all Premier League clubs as part of Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign, which seeks to tackle anti-LGBTQ+ hate in sport and has been shown to have improved the attitudes of sports fans towards the LGBTQ+ community. The campaign runs from 29 November to 5 December.

FA policy allows initiatives and slogans that promote football, respect and integrity, but not “political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images”.

The policy says that “for any offence, the player and/or the team will be sanctioned by the competition organiser, national football association or by [world governing body] FIFA”.

According to ESPN, Geuhi’s decision to write the Christian message on an armband promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion could be viewed as an ‘aggravating factor’ in any punishment issued by the sporting body.

During the same weekend Guehi wrote “I Love Jesus” for the Crystal Palace-Newcastle game, Ipswich Town captain and Egyptian national Sam Morsy chose not to wear the rainbow armband because of his religious beliefs.

Despite not commenting on his decision to write the phrases publicly, Guehi took to Instagram on Tuesday evening, writing on his story: “Jesus [loves] you. Stay blessed”.

In response to the media storm around Guehi, Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner said the club will continue to “respect” him.

He said, as quoted by the Mirror: “We respect every single player, especially Marc, who is our captain. He is a great guy, very humble and we shouldn’t make it bigger than it is, he is very respectful to everyone in the club.

“In football we are all against discrimination, it’s a great campaign. We spoke about it, we speak often as he is my captain.”

Glasner continued: “He is no child, he is an adult, he has his opinion and we accept and respect every opinion. The quote of this campaign is to be tolerant and Marc is very tolerant.”

Guehi’s own father, John, has also spoken to the press, telling MailOnline that he does not believe the message is not offensive because “God is everywhere in this country” and despite changing beliefs “it is still a Christian country”.

He said: “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.”

“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,” John continued.

“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.”

He also added: “I do believe in what the Bible says, Jesus loves everyone, and, in my opinion, Marc did not offend anyone with what he wrote.”

Issuing a statement following the various media coverage, a spokesperson for campaign group Football vs Homophobia said: “Captains who choose to wear rainbow armbands send a strong message of allyship towards LGBTQ+ communities everywhere, not least those associated with their club or team.

“Football v Homophobia exists to challenge all forms of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in the game through education. We encourage those in leadership positions in football to engage directly with players in preparation for campaigns; to have conversations about the effect their interactions may have, particularly on young people; and to communicate clearly and unequivocally to a wide audience that there is no place for prejudice of any kind in the game.”

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.