FA sued over Rainbow Laces campaign

The Football Association (FA) is facing legal action for breaching a ban on political messages over its support of the LGBTQ+ community through its Rainbow Lace campaign.

Newcastle United fan Lindsey Smith plans to sue the FA, claiming the wearing of rainbow armbands and shoelaces by footballers supports a “gender ideology”.

In an action letter to the FA The Telegraph sawSmith’s lawyers said: “The Football Association committed an unlawful act in encouraging, sanctioning or instructing Premier League players to wear rainbow-colored bootlaces, armbands and other equipment during the ‘Rainbow Lace’ campaign. “Ta” he wrote.

“Such devices are prohibited by law. [FA] “Rules as something that constitutes or conveys a political message, statement, or image. This includes the fact that controversial political viewpoints, i.e. gender ideologies, are accepted and influence policy and law-making. This also includes cases in which it shows support that it should be done.

smith now Crowdfunding for litigationtold the Telegraph: “There is no politics in football.”

Smith, who describes herself as a champion of lesbian, bisexual and women’s rights, was previously banned from matches due to social media posts that featured gender-critical and transphobic views, and has since joined Newcastle United. Membership has been revoked until at least 2026.

These posts included claims that trans women are men and that they “do not believe in gender reassignment for children.” According to GB News.

“My own personal experience in this field has taught me that inclusivity is not important. If it were, I would not have received any sanctions from my football club. and imposing a highly controversial ideology on people whether they like it or not. Enough is enough,” she told the Telegraph.

This comes after Crystal Palace captain Mark Guehi was criticized for writing ‘Jesus Love You’ on his captain’s rainbow armband during a game against Ipswich Town earlier this year. The FA claimed there was a breach of regulations regarding religious messages on uniforms.

Mr Smith’s legal letter referred to the incident, saying the FA’s actions were “unreasonable” because they “treat religious messages as inappropriate, but political messages as lacking proper justification”. said.

The FA’s Rainbow Lace campaign was launched in 2013 as a joint initiative between Stonewall and the Premier League. The FA said wearing the rainbow armband is completely voluntary and a matter of personal choice for teams and players.

An FA spokesperson told the Telegraph: “We believe football should belong to everyone and have supported the Rainbow Lace campaign for over 10 years.”

“Working with our partners and the leagues across English football, we have helped drive an inclusive and voluntary campaign to provide support for the LGBTQ+ community at all levels of the game. We do not believe that this violates our rules.”