Marc Guehi escapes FA charge after doubling down on rainbow armband stance with ‘Jesus loves you’ message
MARC GUEHI will NOT be charged by the FA for displaying a second religious message on his rainbow armband during Crystal Palace’s 1-0 win over Ipswich.
The England defender, 24, a devout Christian, was warned by the FA not to repeat his actions after writing “I love Jesus” on his armband for Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle.
On Tuesday night, the Eagles skipper ignored the warning as he wrote “Jesus loves you” on his armband.
And it has now emerged that the FA do not plan any formal disciplinary action despite the breach of Rule A4.
Instead, Wembley beaks have reminded Palace of the kit regulations that are in place.
The Laws of the Game allow slogans “promoting the game of football, respect and integrity”.
But the Laws forbid “political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images”.
Breaching this requirement is a strict liability situation with the Laws adding: “For any offence the player and/or the team will be sanctioned by the competition organiser, national football association or by FIFA.”
The Guehi issue, and Ipswich skipper Sam Morsy’s refusal to wear the rainbow armband on “religious” grounds, will put a spotlight on the campaign that has been part of the Premier League’s season since 2013.
Guehi, whose dad is a minister, was one of 19 top flight captains who wore the armband in the weekend fixtures to support the Premier League‘s Rainbow Laces campaign in support of LGBTQ+ rights.
Ipswich’s Morsy was the only skipper to snub wearing the armband.
Speaking after Tuesday’s game, which Palace won 1-0 to ease relegation concerns, manager Oliver Glasner backed his captain.
He said: “We respect every single player and especially Marc as our captain.
“He’s a great guy, very humble and we shouldn’t make it bigger than it is. Keep it calm.
“He’s very respectful to everyone in the club.
“In football we’re all against discrimination, against abuse, every single part. It was a great campaign and I think that’s it.
“We spoke about it. I speak to Marc quite often, he’s my captain.
“He’s no child who is 15, he’s an adult person like every one of us.
“He has his opinion and we accept and respect every opinion. This is the quote of this campaign, being tolerant and Marc is very tolerant so everything is fine.”
Meanwhile, Man Utd’s players abandoned plans to wear a jacket in support of the LGBTQ+ community after Noussair Mazraoui refused to join the initiative ahead of their 4-0 win over Everton.