The Professional Football League (LFP) announced, Thursday evening May 30, that the Monegasque player Mohamed Camara, who hid the logo against homophobia flocked on his jersey during the last day of Ligue 1, May 19, 2024, received a four-match suspension. The midfielder, who will be able to play two matches with the Mali national team at the beginning of June, will be suspended for the first four matches of Ligue 1 next season, which will begin on August 16.
This sanction is relatively lenient for the Malian player, who responded to his summons by videoconference from Monaco. He could be suspended for up to ten matches, according to the disciplinary scale of the French Football Federation. Especially since the midfielder refused all proposals for awareness-raising actions to combat homophobia to obtain a lighter sanction. “After hearing the player Mohamed Camara and taking note of his refusal during the session to carry out one or more actions to raise awareness of the fight against homophobia”the disciplinary committee of the LFP “decides to impose a four-match firm suspension on him”wrote the body in a press release.
“We take note of the decision of the League which we expected and we will not appeal this decision. As a club we did not agree with what he [Camara] did “, reacted to Agence France-Presse Thiago Scuro, the general director of Monaco. The ASM, which had apologized to the LFP and raised possible internal sanctions, did not assist Camara before the commission. “Our concern was above all to deal with this situation, to make our club’s position clear on the subject, and to explain to Mo that his behavior could be different”added Thiago Scuro. “AS Monaco supports the action of the League, the fight against discrimination, the action against homophobia, it is clear for us, it is also clear for Mo”he concluded.
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Support from Malian compatriots
As part of a campaign to combat homophobia led by the LFP on the occasion of the 34th and final day of Ligue 1, Camara had stuck white straps on the logo against homophobia flocked on his chest and worn by all players, coaches and referees. Nor did he participate in the pre-match protocol photo where the Monaco and Nantes teams posed in front of the slogan symbolizing the fight against homophobia.
“Such behavior must be subject to the strongest sanctions both against the player but also against the club which allowed it to happen”, estimated the next day the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. Mohamed Camara, on the other hand, received the support of Malian personalities and many compatriots on social networks, in the name of respect for personal and religious convictions. The Malian Football Federation itself assured the player of its support, “in the exercise of freedom of expression and its corollary, [celle] not to express oneself ».
For his part, Yoann Lemaire, from the Foot Ensemble association, had called for an exemplary sanction, hoping that it “be smart”suggesting to propose to Camara “awareness workshops at the Monaco training center”. What the player therefore refused to do, exposing himself to a heavier sanction, unlike Kévin N’Doram, the only previous case before the League’s disciplinary committee.
In August 2023, this Metz player was sentenced to a suspended match suspension for having made homophobic remarks at half-time of a match against Marseille. The defensive midfielder, however, apologized at the end of the meeting and agreed to participate in awareness workshops on the fight against discrimination organized by the LFP.
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