Last weekend, Zakaria Aboukhlal refused to play with Toulouse for not wearing the rainbow flocked jersey, a symbol of the fight against homophobia. The Moroccan is supported by his national teammates Ziyech and Mazraoui.
May 17 is the World Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. On this occasion, all the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 teams wore a rainbow flocked jersey last weekend. Several players refused to play their team’s match for not wearing this one. This is the case, in particular, of the Egyptian Mostafa Mohamed, who was financially sanctioned by FC Nantes following his decision. Toulouse player Zakaria Aboukhlal also refused to play with his club, precisely against Nantes on Sunday (0-0).
The Moroccans behind Aboukhal
die ersten haben sich schon eingereiht bei dem @rsch pic.twitter.com/2NKNkS9op5
— brummbrumm dorfgenosse (@msplinter100) May 15, 2023
Zakaria Aboukhlal had justified his decision not to wear the rainbow flocked jersey on his social networks. “Respect is a value that I hold dear. It extends to others, but it also encompasses respect for my personal beliefs. That’s why I don’t think I’m the most suitable person to participate in the meeting. I hope my decision will be treated with respect, just as we ask for respect“, had put forward the Lion of the Atlas.
Hakim Ziyech, Aboukhlal’s teammate in the selection, supported the Toulousain by commenting on his post on Instagram with a heart. Like Bilal El Khannouss, KRC Genk player. Bayern Munich defender Noussair Mazraoui meanwhile wrote, “God bless you brother” in response to the same post. Concerned by a second controversy and accused of having disrespected an elected official, Aboukhlal was dismissed by the TFC until further notice.
