If he has drawn the wrath of many fans, observers and football players by skipping the day of the fight against homophobia, Idrissa Gana Gueye has at least found some support in his country.

Senegalese President Macky Sall joined the international community on Twitter on Tuesday, asking that his "religious convictions" be respected.

“He had already done it last year”

Like last year, the PSG player did not play Saturday against Montpellier (4-0) during the day dedicated to the fight against homophobia, where the players wore rainbow flocking on their shirt.

Gueye has not spoken publicly about the reasons for his absence from the field against Montpellier, and the player's entourage, contacted by AFP, refused to explain the reasons for this absence.

On the other hand, they are clear for associations fighting against homophobia.

“He had already done it last year.

There is little doubt about his intentions, ”said Bertrand Lambert, president of Panam Boyz and Girlz United, a club open to diversity.

Last year, the player invoked gastroenteritis, while Mauricio Pochettino spoke of "personal reasons" on Saturday, ruling out an injury.

Support in Senegal, where homosexuality is outlawed

In Senegal, Gueye and his colleagues in the selection are adored.

The PSG player was part of the team that won the country's first African Cup of Nations (CAN) in February in Cameroon, against Egypt.

In this 95% Muslim and very practicing country, homosexual relations are prohibited.

The existing law stipulates that "anyone who has committed an immodest or unnatural act with an individual of his sex”.

Messages of support for the defensive midfielder of PSG and the national team continued to flow in Senegal on Tuesday.

Sports Minister Matar Bâ defended Gueye by stating that "when you sign (a contract with a club), it's to play football, it's not to promote anything or put aside his convictions,” in a statement to the press on Monday evening.

Former Prime Minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne encourages Gueye by telling him: "Hold on, Gaïndé", lion in the Wolof language, nickname of the national football team, in a message on Twitter accompanied by verses from the Koran.

The writer and intellectual Boubacar Boris Diop, winner of the very prestigious Neustadt Prize, also affirmed his "total solidarity with Idrissa Gana Gueye", on Twitter.

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  • Sport

  • Soccer

  • Paris-Saint-Germain (PSG)

  • Idrissa Gueye

  • Homophobia

  • Senegal