FA facing legal action for ‘unlawful’ action after LGBT ‘rainbow armband and laces’ campaign
A leading human rights lawyer is threatening to sue the Football Association over its use of ‘rainbow armbands and laces’ claiming this breaches rules on “political impartiality and clothing.”
The rainbow symbol is being worn to support LGBTQ rights but has sparked controversy both on and off the pitch.
At least one player has refused to wear the band for religious reasons, while another, Marc Guehi, wrote “I love Jesus’ over the rainbow.
Paul Conrathe, from SinclairsLaw, sent a letter of intent to the FA on Friday stating that unless it “accepts authorising rainbow armbands and rainbow laces is unlawful and will not happen again” it will launch legal action.
The movement, launched in 2013, involves captains of top-flight clubs being given armbands to wear for a week every season to demonstrate support for the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
The campaign, backed by the charity Stonewall, has already caused conflict between the FA and premier players.
Last week Ipswich Town’s Premier League captain Sam Morsy, 33, a practising Muslim refused to wear a rainbow armband for the second time in three days due to his religious beliefs.
His opposite number, Marc Guehi, also sparked controversy after writing ‘I love Jesus’ on his armband for Palace’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle, last Saturday.
Guehi was formally reprimanded by the FA for writing on his armband, but he still wrote ‘Jesus loves you’ in a new message on his armband last Tuesday night.
Conrathe is planning to take the legal case as he says the rainbow campaign breaches FA rules on slogans, statements, images and advertising.
This states: “Equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images. Players must not reveal undergarments that show political, religious, personal slogans, statements or images, or advertising other than the manufacturer’s logo.
“For any offence the player and/or the team will be sanctioned by the competition organiser, national football association or by Fifa.”
His letter of intent to sue the FA states: “The FA has acted unlawfully by encouraging, authorising or directing players in the Premier League to wear equipment including boot laces and armbands in rainbow colours during the “Rainbow Laces” campaign.
Conrathe is taking the case on behalf of a lesbian female football fan who is accused of holding “gender critical views”. She was later banned from matches over social media posts that were deemed transphobic after an alleged spying investigation by the Premier League.
The case has particular focus on the campaign’s alleged support for “a contested political viewpoint,” namely gender ideology.
The lawyer claims the rainbow laces campaign implies gender ideology “should be accepted and influence policy or law making. In acting as it has, the defendants (FA) have failed to act in accordance with its rules, and have acted irrationally.”
Linzi Smith, 35, was investigated by the Premier League which used a special unit to ‘root out racism’ in the game to comb through her social media comments.
Smith, a gender-critical Newcastle United supporter from Shiremoor, Newcastle was investigated even though the posts had nothing to do with football. Gender-critical people believe transgender women are not women.
Smith, a lesbian, was using her social media to promote lesbian, gay and bisexual rights and women’s rights. She was put under investigation by the police, the Premier League and Newcastle United after expressing strong views on trans ideology on her personal account on X.
She was interviewed under caution by police after the dossier was handed to officers by Newcastle United. Officers took just two hours to inform her that she had not committed any crime, but the club, which had spent four months looking into her background, revoked her membership and banned her from games until 2026.
She told GB News: “The LGBT movement has become a political issue. It is not necessary. I believe people can be trans or whoever they want to be but I should not be obliged to play along. I have survived sexual abuse and if I see you as a male, I see you as a male.
“The LGBTQ movement erodes safeguards and all boundaries. For example if a bloke goes into a ladies toilet it used to be the case that you could just say get out. These safeguards have now been eroded that are in place to protect women and children from the tiny minority of sex offenders.”
Her lawyer Paul Conrathe said: “The FA is in breach of its own rules on its rainbow armbands and laces campaign. Not only this. The whole campaign smacks of hypocrisy. The FA appears to be inclusive in its support of LGBTQ rights, but not when it comes to a gender critical lesbian.”
The FA and Premier League declined to comment. Newcastle United were approached for comment.