[PEOPLE] Olivier Giroud sounds the alarm for his “Christian brothers and sisters”

It's too rare a gesture not to be saluted. French footballer Olivier Giroud has announced that he wants to launch an initiative in support of persecuted Christians around the world. This will take the form of an auction of a jersey that he wore last September, in the colors of Los Angeles FC. “I am very proud and honored to put this special jersey up for auctiondeclared the champion on his social networks. We became champions and this jersey therefore has a special value in my eyes. I hope that you will be generous in favor of our Christian brothers and sisters persecuted in the East and more particularly in Armenia”.

Very sensitive to the situation of Christians in the world, Olivier Giroud had already committed to them in 2023. The footballer then donated his jersey worn during the quarter-final of the 2022 World Cup won by the Blues against the 'England. A gesture which brought in 35,000 euros for the benefit of persecuted Christians in Armenia.

It must be said that although Christians are not an oppressed minority in France, they nevertheless constitute the most persecuted religious community in the world. With several decades of expertise, the Portes Ouvertes association has, in recent years, reported a real “explosion of violence against the Church”. This can take different forms: murders (5,000 in the year), kidnappings (4,000), imprisonments (4,125), attacks on places of worship (15,000, absolute record)… Today, more than 365 million Christians are persecuted or discriminated against throughout the world, particularly in the Maghreb and the Middle East where these believers “feel less and less accepted”.

A special case in contemporary French football

A fervent evangelical Christian, the former Chelsea player lives his faith openly, quoting the Bible without complexes. “As Jesus said, there is more joy in giving than in receiving”he explains about his charitable initiative. “I have faith, I believe in God, I know that nothing happens to us by chance but that Jesus has plans for each of us”he already said in September 2019 in the columns of the magazine Jesus!. He is also a proud patriot who never misses an opportunity to pay tribute to his country and sings at the top of his lungs The Marseillaise – whose words were taught to him by his grandmother when he was little.

So many characteristics which clearly distinguish him from his former comrades on the French team. While Karim Benzema attacks him on social networks and makes fun of him, Olivier Giroud refuses to stoop to his level and responds on the pitch by scoring goals. While Kylian Mbappé mourns the death of Nahel – “little angel gone too soon” – Olivier Giroud prefers to give thanks to war fighters and dedicates his Legion of Honor to them. While Ousmane Dembélé, Ibrahima Konaté, or Youssouf Fofana post stories tears over Gaza, Olivier Giroud provides his support to the Christians of the East. Everyone has their own heroes and victims…

In his own way, the former number 9 illustrates the fractures in French society. It highlights the existence of communities which share a territory – or a football field – but which basically no longer have much in common. Christian, married, father of four children, proud of his roots and part of a certain historical continuity, Olivier Giroud's profile would not have been exceptional in the Blues team of forty years ago. Today, he is, unfortunately, the last of the Mohicans.