Premier League captain refuses to wear rainbow armband AGAIN due to his religious beliefs, as Marc Guehi writes a NEW message after being reprimanded

A Premier League captain has refused to wear a rainbow armband for the second time in three days.

As part of the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign to show support for the LGBTQ+ community, top club captains were given rainbow bracelets to wear over the weekend and during midweek matches.

However, Ipswich Town’s Sam Morsy, 33, a practicing Muslim, did not wear the armband for Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest due to his religious beliefs.

He was also spotted without the rainbow armband as the players took to the pitch for Tuesday night’s match between Ipswich and Crystal Palace at Portman Road.

His opposite number, Marc Guehi, also courted controversy after scrawling ‘I love Jesus’ on his armband before Palace’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle on Saturday.

Guehi was formally reprimanded by the FA for writing on his armband, but on Tuesday evening he still wrote “Jesus loves you” in a new message on his armband.

Guehi was reprimanded for writing “I love Jesus” on his bracelet on Saturday

Marc Guehi had ‘Jesus loves you’ written on his rainbow bracelet on Tuesday evening

The English star is a devout Christian and his father is a preacher. Guehi’s father, John, hit out at the FA for reprimanding his son without taking action against Morsy.

He told MailOnline: ‘I say: has he offended anyone? I don’t think so. I really believe in what the Bible says: Jesus loves everyone, and in my opinion Marc did not offend anyone with what he wrote.

‘Jesus loved everyone, so by saying “I love Jesus” on his bracelet, I really don’t see what is offensive and what the problem is.

‘If you look at what the LGBT community does, they try to impose what they believe on others. It’s faith against faith, but ultimately everyone is entitled to an opinion.

“But if the purpose of that opinion is to offend you then there is a problem, but if my opinion is just to express what I feel then that’s fine with me and I don’t think what Marc on that bracelet wrote is offensive.

“He’s talking about him, he loves Jesus and like I said, he refused to wear that bracelet. Like Morsy, people should pay more attention to the person who refused to wear it.

“Marc said ‘Yes’ and did the right thing by wearing it, but people are attacking him for what he wrote. He accepted to wear the bracelet, he was just trying to balance the message.

“He said, ‘You gave me the bracelet, as a Christian I don’t believe in your cause, but I will put it on,’ but Morsy didn’t put it on because he said it was against his religion, but there seems to be more . is said about Marc than about him.

“We have such thick skin in this country, God is everywhere in this country, and I know things change because of different beliefs, but it is still a Christian country. Therefore, I don’t see what is offensive.

Morsy and Guehi shook hands before kick-off, with Morsy not wearing a rainbow bracelet while Guehi did

Guehi’s father John (left) is a church minister and has hit out at the FA for reprimanding his son while failing to take action against Morsy

‘He is a devout Christian; the son of a preacher and he accepted to put on the armband to welcome everyone to football, but the problem we have now is that players are now being used as spokespeople.”

In light of Morsy’s refusal to wear the rainbow armband this weekend, Ipswich released a statement insisting the club ‘proudly supports’ the Premier League campaign.

‘Ipswich Town Football Club strives to be a fully inclusive club that welcomes everyone. “We are proud to support the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign and stand with the LGBTQ+ community in promoting equality and acceptance,” the spokesperson said.

‘During this year’s campaign, members of the club’s first men’s and women’s teams attended our Foundation’s weekly LGBTQ+ football session, while the club took a joint pledge of solidarity and inclusivity with Nottingham Forest ahead of Saturday’s match.

‘A range of further initiatives are planned around Tuesday’s home match with Crystal Palace, including a takeover of the stadium’s big screen just before kick-off.

“At the same time, we respect the decision of our captain Sam Morsy, who has chosen not to wear the rainbow captain’s armband due to his religious beliefs. We will continue to create an environment where everyone is valued and respected, both on and off the field.”

Morsy has now opted not to wear the armband for the second match in a row, and it remains to be seen whether he will be reprimanded for his actions.

Amid the controversy surrounding Morsy and Guehi’s respective positions, the Premier League’s other 18 captains all wore the rainbow armband this weekend in support of the LGBTQ+ initiative.

The rainbow armband was worn by all Premier League captains this weekend, except Morsy

But Morsy is not the only captain who has refrained from wearing the rainbow armband over the years.

Last season, Sheffield United captain Anel Ahmedhodzic became the first skipper in seven years to refuse to wear a rainbow armband.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina star did not give an official answer to why he was not wearing it, but Swedish outlet SVT Sport claimed that when questioned he contacted them via text message, as the defender cryptically said: “Guess what,” before saying failed. to answer further questions.

There are also notable examples on the continent, with Orkun Kokcu and Idrissa Gueye – then of Feyenoord and PSG respectively – citing religious grounds for their objection.