(FreedomBeacon.com)- A Muslim soccer play was forced to give up his duties as team captain last week after he refused to wear a rainbow armband during a game.
Orkun Kokcu is the captain of the Dutch soccer club Feyenoord. He had previously worn the rainbow armband in each of the five previous games his team played in the Eredivisie. But ahead of the game against AZ Alkmaar last week, Kokcu revealed that he wouldn’t be wearing the armband for religious reasons.
In explaining his decision not to wear the rainbow captain’s armband for that round, Kokcu emphasized that he respects everyone regardless of their religion, background, or preference, and he thinks everyone should be free to do what they want. However, because of his religious faith, Kokcu said he did not believe he was the “right person to support this” so he didn’t feel comfortable wearing the rainbow captains band.
Kokcu acknowledged that some people might be disappointed with his decision, but he hoped that his choice based on his religion would also be respected.
For their match in Alkmaar, Gernot Trauner assumed the position of captain.
With the next World Cup scheduled for the Gulf kingdom of Qatar, Fifa’s virtue signaling to the LGBT community may have a bumpy road ahead.
Eight national team captains, including England’s Harry Kane, plan to wear the “OneLove” rainbow armband during the Qatar World Cup as part of a European push to improve human rights in countries where homosexuality is banned, including Qatar.
However, Fifa may order the team captains not to wear the armband. Its final decision on whether the rainbow armband will be allowed has not yet been announced.
But England’s Harry Kane plans to wear it regardless of how Fifa rules.
When he announced that he was joining the armband-wearing captains, Kane said all teams must “stand together against all forms of discrimination.”
