Sheffield United’s Anel Ahmedhodzic became the first Captain to not wear a rainbow armband

Anel Ahmedhodzic told a Swedish reporter to "guess" why he didn't wear the armband.

Sheffield United’s Anel Ahmedhodzic became the first Captain to not wear a rainbow armband

Anel Ahmedhodzic became the first captain in 7 years to now wear the rainbow armband (Image via X)

Bosnian defender and Sheffield United captain Anel Ahmedhodzic created controversy when he refused to wear the rainbow armband. He was the first captain in 7 years to not wear the armband, which left many surprised. Rainbow Laces is a campaign against homophobia which is supported by the Premier League. Since 2016, there was a window of games where captains of each team would wear an armband to show support to the LGBTQ+ community, a ritual every captain followed till Ahmedhodzic. 

Oliver Norwood was supposed to captain the game but was suspended due to accumulating 5 yellow cards. As he was suspended, the Bosnian was appointed captain but refused to wear the rainbow armband. When Chris Wilder, the Sheffield United Manager, was asked why the defender did not wear it, he replied he didn’t know. He wasn’t sure if it was a personal or club decision as well. 

YouTube video

The defender broke his silence regarding the matter, telling SVT Sport to “guess” why he did not wear it. The LGBT+ fan club of Sheffield United released a statement where they expressed their disappointment at Ahmedhodzic as well.  Many have theorized that the defender did not wear the armband due to religious reasons. Ahmedhodzic is a follower of Islam, and in the religion homosexuality is a sin. He did partake in an anti-homophobic campaign when on loan in France. While playing for Bordeaux, the shirt numbers were given the rainbow color scheme to support the LGBTQ+ community. 

FS Video

Related: “Draconian”: Gay footballer Josh Cavallo slams FIFA over stance on LGBTQIA+ rights and rainbow armband during 2022 Qatar World Cup

Premier League’s support of Rainbow Laces

Rainbow Laces is an anti-homophobia campaign run by Stonewall. The campaign is run to educate fans of sports about the LGBTQ+ community and has had immense support by the Premier League and the FA. 

Rainbow armband
The Rainbow armband was introduced in 2016 (Image via Premier League)

It was launched in 2013 and the company sent rainbow laces to every Premier League footballer. Jurgen Klopp praised the campaign, saying Liverpool will always support the LBGTQ+ community.

From 2016, each Premier League captain wore a rainbow armband to show their support for the cause. Every season a window of games is picked to conduct it and it is usually during November and December. For the 2023/24 season, games from 7th to 10th December were decided. 

So far there has been no football player coming out, but the Women’s sport has been more inclusive. Some professional male footballers in other nations have come out, such as Jakub Jankto and Jake Daniels. 

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