Razeen Gutta
PSG’s Idrissa Gueye has been hailed as a hero back home in Senegal after reportedly refusing to wear a rainbow flag on his shirt.
The 32-year-old Dakar-born midfielder was absent from PSG’s 4-0 win over Montpellier last month, with manager Mauricio Pochettino saying he was left out “due to personal reasons”.
The Ligue 1 game took place on 14 May, where the league had included the flag on all player shirts as part of a “world day against homophobia”.
And while Gueye’s alleged decision caused an outburst in Europe, the reaction in Senegal might not have been as severe — with Sadio Mané’s advisor Bacary Cisse calling it “a misunderstanding”.
“It’s a misunderstanding. We must not forget that Gueye was born in Senegal. He grew up there, he was educated there. We respect everything that others do, but we don’t follow them in their culture,” Cisse said per Goal.
“Today, Gueye has the total support of all Senegalese, of all Africans. In this case, we must not stigmatise the boy. He cannot justify this gesture.
“He was perceived as a hero in Senegal, of course. For us, Gueye is a hero. If he had done otherwise, what would we have said? We would have been much more shocked.”
Gueye’s compatriot Cheikhou Kouyate also caused a stir on social media when he appeared to support his national teammate in an Instagram post.
“Real man. Champion in your behaviour, champion in your generosity, champion you were, champion you are, champion you will remain in our eyes. We wholeheartedly support you brother,” the Crystal Palace midfielder said in his post, which was later deleted.
Kouyate’s manager Patrick Vieira, who was born in Senegal, told the media at the time that his player’s comment would be dealt with internally.
Image source: @CNN
