A Worldwide Support for Idrissa Gueye for Standing by His Belief Against Homosexuality [Hashtag]

The Senegalese star and Paris Saint-Germain player Idrissa Gana Gueye received global solidarity from millions on social media after a campaign of pressure and racism against him, due to his refusal to participate in the last round of the French League, to avoid appearing in a shirt that supports LGBTQ+ rights, as all teams did in that round.

Tweeters launched the hashtag #WeareallIdriss to support and solidarity with the player, as the hashtag is trending worldwide, and the player's name has also been on Google search engines during the past hours.

Tweeters denounced Idrissa's racism and confiscation of his freedom of expression by the French Football Federation, and described his stance as an honorable, while others denounced the blatant contradiction of the West, especially France, and its selectivity regarding the alleged freedom of opinion, and how they strike the freedom of expression in disregard if the case is contrary to their ideology.

 

Pressure and Racism

Idrissa Gueye, a PSG player, refused to participate in a match for his team, to avoid wearing the French team's shirt bearing a logo that supports LGBTQ+ rights, which includes gays and transgender people.

The Senegalese player was absent from the squad in the match that took place on May 14, 2022, against Montpellier, which ended with Paris Saint-Germain winning 4-0.

The coach of the team, Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, had justified the absence of the midfielder from the match for personal reasons.

But the absence of the Muslim player at the time raised questions as to whether he had done so deliberately so as not to wear the team’s shirt on which the gay flag was placed, to support homosexuals on their alleged day.

On May 15, the French newspaper Le Parisien reported that the PSG player refused to play so as not to wear his team's shirt bearing the gay logo, noting that his refusal was motivated by religious beliefs.

The penultimate round of the French League saw all players wear shirts with numbers written in the colors of the gay flag, and the leadership badges also carried the same colors.

The newspaper also revealed that “Idrissa Gueye missed the same tour last season (2020-2021), but PSG announced at the time that the player was suffering from gastritis.”

In turn, Agence France-Presse reported on May 18 that “the Ethics Committee of the French Football Federation asked Idrissa to clarify his stance and issue a public apology, or if the reports are incorrect, the Senegalese should take a picture of himself wearing the same shirt.”

On his part, French President Emmanuel Macron said: “This is support for homophobia,” calling for an investigation and punishment of the player.

 

 

Valerie Pecresse - the conservative candidate in the last French presidential elections - also joined the pressure campaign on Idrissa, and demanded that “the player be punished for his failure to support the anti-homophobia campaign.”

 

 

Idrissa Gana Gueye, is a Senegalese international player, born on September 26, 1989. He plays in the defensive midfield and has had many professional experiences in Europe, specifically between England and France.

At the international level, Gueye has many achievements and participated in the London Olympics in 2012 and the 2018 World Cup. He was crowned the champion of the 2022 African Nations Cup and also helped his country qualify for the World Cup in 2022.

Homosexuality is illegal in Senegal, punishable by up to five years in prison, and is illegal in Qatar, where the owners of PSG are from, and where the 2022 World Cup will be held later this year.

 

Western Hypocrisy

Amidst this violent pressure on Idrissa Gueye, the Muslim world rose up to defend the player's stance, attacking France's pseudo-democracy, in which the opinion of a footballer who does not want to recognize the LGBTQ+ community is not respected.

Tweeters launched many hashtags on social media to support the Senegalese player in his stance, and praised Idrissa's commitment to the teachings of his religion, without addressing a word hostile to the other side of the crisis.

Supporters of Idrissa Gueye's stance considered that what is happening with him is an infringement on freedom of opinion and religious belief, and it is one of the principles for which homosexuals are supported in the Western world.

Tweeters denounced the volatile Western stances and the use of sport to pass political messages when needed, raising the slogan of separating sport from politics at other times, and double standards in dealing with several global issues.

Ali Zahir, for his part, emphasized that freedom is that everyone does what he wants, saying: “When they talk about Islam or burn the Qur'an, they say this is freedom, and when you refuse to wear clothes that contradict your religion, they say you are uncivilized.”

 

 

An account called A bird also denounced Western double standards, saying: “Westerners pretend to defend freedom of expression but when it comes to rejecting homosexuality, their standards of freedom turn out to be bullying.”

 

 

This was also pointed out by another tweeter, saying: “Today we can clearly see the hypocrisy of the Western media. They claim to have freedom of expression, but the only freedom they believe in is the one that corresponds to their ideology.”

 

 

In the same context, Marwa Adel tweeted: “Freedom in Europe is to attack Islam and ridicule its symbols. But exercising your freedom to reject what goes against your beliefs is a crime that cannot be tolerated.”

 

 

On the other hand, the editor-in-chief of Yalla Kora, Karim Saeed, tweeted: “Insulting God's prophets is freedom, and rejecting homosexuality forbidden in the Torah, the Bible, and the Qur'an is extremism. Whoever seeks freedom of speech should not prevent it from anyone else.”

 

 

The tweeter Barry published a picture of a French broadcaster, who looks similar to the French President Emmanuel Macron, asking a Jewish supporter of homosexuality and at the same time closing the mouth of a person similar to the Senegalese player Idrissa, saying: “This is the freedom of speech that they are talking about.”

 

 

 

Widespread Solidarity

From his Senegalese teammates to Senegalese President Macky Sall, Idrissa Gana Gueye has enjoyed widespread support on social media around the world.

Senegalese President Macky Sall wrote on his official Twitter account: “I express my support for Idrissa Gueye. His religious convictions must be respected.”

 

 

While Senegal's Sports Minister, Baa Matar, tweeted: “Senegal, the people, and the government, give their support to the hero Gueye.”

 

 

The novelist Boubacar Boris Diop also wrote on his Twitter account: “I fully sympathize with Idrissa Gana Gueye. Strange are those people who go out of their way to impose their opinions on everyone in the name of freedom of expression.”

 

 

While broadcaster and sports writer Kwame Domoh Agyeman confirmed, via Twitter, that “Idrissa Gueye signed a contract to play football and not to promote sex for some people, which is forbidden by his religion. Respect his opinion and stop attacking him.”

 

 

Many Senegalese professional players in Europe also expressed their support for their colleagues in the Teranga Lions team, led by Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace), Ismaila Sarr (Watford), Nampales Play Mendy (Leicester City), and Abdou Diallo (Paris Saint-Germain).

In turn, the famous Egyptian actor, Mohamed Henedy, wrote on Twitter: “Nobody should be forced to do a thing against their beliefs. We all support Idrissa.”

 

 

The tweeter Rayhaan wished that God would protect people like Idrissa who defended the truth under adverse circumstances, noting that what Idrissa had done was a wonderful stance.

 

 

Another tweeter expressed solidarity with what Idrissa had done and demanded that he continue to fight and that he was not alone.

 

 

The tweeter Yussuf B Ismail asked Idrissa not to compromise his religion in order to support evil deeds that do not correspond to it.