Mostafa Mohamed, the Egyptian footballer of FC Nantes, explained why he refused to play in the match against Toulouse (35th match of Ligue 1), whose players were dressed in the colors of the rainbow, on the occasion of the weekend against homophobia in football.

>> Ligue 1: several Toulouse players have refused to take part in a campaign against homophobia

Mostafa Mohamed: “I hope everyone is treated with respect”

The Egyptian said he respects all differences but says it is impossible for him to participate in this campaign.

“I did not take part in the match between Toulouse and Nantes today. I don’t want to argue at all, but I have to express my position. Respect for differences would be respect for others, respect for self, respect for what will be united and what will remain different.

I respect all differences. I respect all beliefs and convictions. This respect extends to others, but also includes respect for my personal beliefs.

Given my roots, my culture, the importance of my beliefs and convictions, I could not participate in this campaign. I hope that my decision will be respected, as well as my desire not to argue on this topic and to treat everyone with respect” – Mostafa Mohamed on Twitter.

The French Football Federation and the French Professional Football League have planned a new phase of the operation against homophobia this weekend. Thus, under the slogan “Homo or straight, we all wear the same shirt”, 40 teams of League 1 and League 2 wore or will wear shirts with numbers colored in the colors of the rainbow.

In this context, in the Ligue 1 match between FC Toulouse and FC Nantes, two of the main players of both teams did not appear on the lists for the game, but they were not announced as injured either. These are Moroccan Zakaria Abuhlal (Toulouse FC) and Egyptian Mostafa Mohamed (Nantes FC), writes News.ro.