Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Nemanja Matic, Ligue 1, Football
Ben McCrum
Olympique Lyon midfielder Nemanja Matic has 'responded' to being banned for covering an LGBTQ+ badge on his kit.
When he came on to the pitch as a substitute during Lyon's 2-0 Ligue 1 home win over Angers on May 17, fans noticed that Matic had made a controversial change to his match kit.
The former Manchester United and Chelsea player had put tape over the anti-homophobia badge that all clubs in the French top division showing rainbow-coloured symbols as part of an annual campaign.
At the same time, Le Havre striker Ahmed Hassan, 32, also covered the badge with tape during his side's 3-2 win at Strasbourg.
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In response, both men were handed two-game bans with a further two matches suspended, and now Matic has responded to the ban.
An official statement from Ligue 1 confirmed that Matic had accepted the ban and had agreed to take part in a campaign to raise awareness against homophobia within the next six months.
It read: "In addition, the committee proposed to the player -- who immediately accepted at the meeting -- that he take part, within six months, in a campaign to raise awareness of the fight against homophobia in football."
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With Matic's contract with Lyon set to expire at the end of June and the 36-year-old yet to agree new terms, it remains unclear when he will serve the ban or undergo the awareness campaign.
Ahead of the final Ligue 1 matchday, Nantes and Egypt forward Mostafa Mohamed also protested the anti-homophobia badge as he withdrew from his side's relegation-decider match against Montpellier.
"I believe in mutual respect - the respect we owe others but also the respect we owe to ourselves and our beliefs," Mohamed said on Instagram before the match.
"For me, there are deep-rooted values linked to my background and my beliefs that make my participation in this initiative difficult."
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Although the campaign against homophobia has run in Ligue 1 for five years, it has always seen mixed reception from players with some opting out due to personal or religious reasons for opting out.
However, speaking six years ago former France international Antoine Griezmann supported the campaign, saying: “If a gay player wants to come out, he might not have all the France players with him, but he will have me.