Zander Murray calls for overhaul of Rainbow Laces campaign after players refuse to wear armbands

Zander Murray, Scotland’s first out gay male professional footballer, has called for changes to Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign after a number of players in the English Premier League refused to take part.

The campaign needs to “do less rainbows” and “focus more on an anti-homophobia message”, he said.

Stonewall’s annual LGBTQ+ inclusion campaign has made headlines in recent days, after Ipswich Town’s Sam Morsy refused to wear a rainbow-coloured captain’s armband and Manchester United defender Noussair Mazraoui declined the chance to wear a similar jacket. Both cited religious beliefs.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace’s England international Marc Guéhi courted controversy by writing “I [heart] Jesus” on his armband.

@pinknews

Gay Scottish Footballer Zander Murray has spoken exclusively to PinkNews about the recent controversy regarding Ipswich Town player #SamMorsy and his refusal to wear a rainbow armband during a recent #PremierLeague match. The retired footballer has called for an overhaul of Stonewall’s #RainbowLaces campaign as he says it does little to actually stop homophobia within football and distracts from the issues faces by gay players.

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The Rainbow Laces campaign, which has been running since 2013, aims to tackle LGBTQ+ discrimination in sport and create a welcoming environment for queer fans and players.

Research has shown that the campaign has had a positive impact on sports fans’ attitudes to LGBTQ+ people, although some queer fans still don’t feel welcome at live sporting events.

Retired striker Murray, who made history in 2022 by becoming the first senior Scottish footballer to come out as gay, while playing for Gala Fairydean Rovers, has urged organisers to “strip back” and “change” the campaign.

Speaking exclusively to PinkNews, he said: “It’s deeper than a Premier League football player refusing to wear the rainbow armband. This is a problem with the campaign we’ve had for years. Each year people are refusing to contribute.

“I’ve been saying for years – I’m a Stonewall sports champion – that we have to change the wording of the name of the campaign. We need to do less rainbows, and focus more on an anti-homophobia message, rather than telling players to don rainbow kits [and] rainbow armbands.”

Every weekend, at every match, there are “rainbow corner flags, rainbow stoppage time boards, rainbows everywhere without any context, without any real work and there’s millions being spent on this”, he added.

“We have to strip it back, to change the name… a simple logo and a couple of words focused on challenging homophobia. We don’t need rainbow armbands, we don’t need corner flags.

“The campaign in general needs a change, evolvement and, hopefully, I can play a massive part in that.”

A Stonewall spokesperson said in response to Murray’s statement: “It has been incredible to see so many teams, players and sports fans support Rainbow Laces this year, to make sport safer and more inclusive for all. When people show their support for inclusion in sport, it helps LGBTQ+ people feel safe and welcome to be themselves, both on and off the pitch.

“We are grateful to all our supporters, including our Sports Champions, who help make Rainbow Laces a success. Over the last 11 years, we’ve seen the campaign grow and evolve, and we’ll continue to work with partners to achieve a more inclusive sporting world.”

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