Marc Guéhi risks punishment after writing 'Jesus loves you' on rainbow armband

Crystal Palace captain Marc Guéhi risked facing Football Association (FA) disciplinary action after he defied their warning over religious messaging by writing about Jesus on his rainbow armband.

The FA had announced it would remind Guéhi, who has been described as a ‘devout Christian,’ of rules over religious messaging, avoiding the need for disciplinary proceedings to be raised against him after he wrote ‘I love Jesus’ on his rainbow captain’s armband worn during Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign.

However, Guéhi ignored their warning, adapting his message slightly to ‘Jesus loves you’ on the armband during his next match.

Leagues across the UK have participated in the campaign alongside Stonewall to promote LGBT inclusion at football matches, and fixtures across two weeks of domestic football matches across the UK feature rainbow-decorated captains’ armbands, corner flags, scoreboards and microphones.

Comparisons have been drawn between this incident and the choices of practicing Muslims, Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy and Manchester United player Noussair Mazraoui, who did not wear rainbow-branded clothes. Ipswich backed Morsy’s decision not to wear the armband out of respect for his beliefs.

Guéhi’s father John, who is a church minister, accused the FA of hypocrisy, pointing out that it never takes issue with the singing of God Save the King before internationals and national cup finals.

He told Mail Online: ‘Jesus loved everyone. Therefore, by saying ‘I love Jesus’ on his armband I really don’t see what is offensive and what the problem is. 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.’