The Senegal midfielder missed Saturday’s game due to “personal reasons”, according to coach Mauricio Pochettino
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) midfielder Idrissa Gueye has been queried about allegations for missing his team’s last Ligue 1 match in protest at the division’s gesture in support of LGBTQI+ rights by the French Football Federation’s (FFF).
Gueye did not play any part in PSG’s over clash with Montpellier over the weekend, and coach Mauricio Pochettino later clarified that he sat out for “personal reasons”.
“This absence (against Montpellier)… is very widely interpreted as a refusal to participate,” the French Football Federation’s (FFF) ethics board said in a statement seen by APF.
“One of two things, either the hypotheses are unfounded and we invite you to immediately express yourself in order to silence these rumours.
“Or the rumours are true. In this case we ask you to be aware of the impact of your actions and the very serious error committed.
“In refusing to take part in this collective initiative you are validating discriminatory behaviour… and not only against the LGBTQI+ community.”
Reactions to Gueye’s no-show
Gueye has not spoken out about his absence from the game, but Senegal president Macky Sall wrote in favour of the player in a message published on Twitter.
“I support Idrissa Gana Gueye. His religious beliefs must be respected,” the head of state affirmed on Twitter.
Crystal Palace’s Cheikhou Kouyate also supported the midfielder, calling him a “real man”; a comment that manager Patrick Vieira promised to investigate should Gueye’s absence be confirmed as owing to objections over the weekend’s gesture.
“If this is the case, I will speak to Cheikhou about it. It’ll be an in-house conversation,” he told reporters.
“There is a lot of noise coming out from France and I have been reading the news but I do not see any kind of statement from Paris Saint-Germain or any kind of statement from the player.
“People are assuming so before we get into conclusions, we have to be sure about what we are talking about before creating something really negative.
“Obviously what is clear from myself and the football club is we are supporting Jake and we are fighting against any kind of discrimination.”
Vieira was referring to Jake Daniels, the Blackpool striker who revealed this week that he is gay.
