Palace backlash as star supports ‘rainbow’ snub

CRYSTAL PALACE manager Patrick Vieira will speak to Cheikhou Kouyate about his controversial support for Senegal team-mate Idrissa Gueye, who refused to wear rainbow colours for Paris SaintGermain this week. Palace midfielder Kouyate and Watford winger Ismaila Sarr appeared to back midfielder Gueye, a devout Muslim, who did not feature in PSG’s game against Montpellier for ‘personal reasons’. The PSG players wore special shirts to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. The Instagram posts by Kouyate and Sarr sparked a backlash, with Palace contacted by fans and groups asking them to look into the matter. Kouyate uploaded a picture of himself and Gueye, calling him a ‘real man’ and adding: ‘We wholeheartedly support you brother’. Sarr posted a shot with

Gueye, plus fist and heart emojis and ‘100 per cent’. When the reasons for Gueye’s stance were confirmed to Vieira, he said: ‘If this is the case I will speak to Cheikhou about it. It will be an in-house conversation.’ Watford said in a statement: ‘Watford is proud to work collaboratively within our community to further the messages and education around equality, diversity and Inclusion.’ Meanwhile, PFA chairman John Mousinho believes the day is coming when more players feel comfortable about coming out, but warned the game still lags behind society. The Oxford defender hailed Blackpool forward Jake Daniels after he came out on Monday, becoming the first openly gay active professional footballer in the UK since Justin Fashanu in 1990. He said: ‘Issues about someone coming out in my lifetime has moved on a huge amount, but football is maybe 30-odd years behind. It will take time.’