Nemanja Matic faces huge ban for covering LGBTQ+ badge on his Lyon shirt

Former Chelsea and Manchester United star Nemanja Matic could be facing a ban after appearing to refuse to participate in the LFP's (Ligue de Football Professionnel) anti-homophobia campaign.

On Saturday, clubs in France had the Ligue One logo in rainbow colours on their right sleeves to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

The support for the LGBTQ+ campaign has been a feature in French football for a number of years now but Lyon midfielder Matic did not engage in the message.

The Serbian, a two-time Premier League winner, came off the bench in the 69th minute of the 2-0 win over Angers.

The rainbow section of the logo patch looked to have been deliberately covered by a sticker by Matic and was spotted by fans in images during and after the game - including a snap of the himself and the departing Alexandre Lacazette in the dressing room.

Nemanja Matic covered up the rainbow logo. Image: Getty

Matic has previously refused to wear a poppy due to his beliefs but he could be hit with a suspension going by a near-identical case in France.

Last year, Monaco midfielder Mohamed Camara placed tape over the LGBTQ+ campaign logo on the front of his shirt, as well as doing the same with the rainbow emblem on the sleeve.

Camara, who scored in the 4-0 win over Nantes, was slammed by the French Minister of Equal Opportunities and French Sports Minister, who advocated for the strongest sactions.

He received a four-match ban for failing to "carry out one or more actions to raise awareness of the fight against homophobia".

However, the Malia international did not appear to serve the suspension as he left that summer to join Qatari side Al Sadd.

Mohamed Camara received a four-game ban for what Nemanja Matic did. Image: Getty

Meanwhile, Nantes' Mostafa Mohamed has regularly refused to get involved with the campaign and in 2023, was fined an undisclosed amount which went to an anti-homophobia charity.

A year later and he did not feature in the Nantes matchday squad for the league's campaign tradition - a trend which continued this year for his side's 3-0 win over Montpellier.

Idrissa Gueye is another player who was omitted from Paris Saint-Germain's matchday squads when the initiative was carried out.

Matic, who had a war of words with Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana last month, is yet to comment on his snub.