June 7 – A French group campaigning against homophobia in football have filed a complaint against Ligue 1 players Mohamed Camara, Mostafa Mohamed and Nabil Bentaleb and their clubs Monaco, Nantes and Lille.
The ‘Bleus et Fiers’ (Blue and Proud) group’s complaint accuses the players and clubs of “public provocation towards hatred because of sexual orientation”.
Mali midfielder Camara was banned for four matches by the LFP for not supporting the league campaign against homophobia by covering its logo on the front of his shirt in the final game of the season against Nantes.
‘Bleus et Fiers’ argue the punishment was not severe enough and Camara should have received a 10-match suspension under the disciplinary scale of the French Football Federation.
They also say that Nantes’ Egyptian forward Mostafa Mohamed, for the second season running, “refused to play the match to avoid wearing the t-shirt with the messages of the fight against homophobia”.
Lille’s Bentaleb was accused of refusing to be in a photo in front of the LFP’s anti-homophobia banner.
‘Bleus et Fiers’ accuses their clubs of not taking strong enough action against the players and “complacency”.
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