The Senegal midfielder missed Saturday’s game due to “personal reasons”, according to coach Mauricio Pochettino

Paris Saint-Germain Idrissa Gueye will have to answer allegations that he missed his team’s last Ligue 1 match in protest at the division’s gesture in support of LGBTQI+ rights.

Every team in the French top flight wore rainbow-coloured numbers in their matches to mark the 2022 International Day against Homophobia.

Gueye, however, played no part in PSG’s clash with Montpellier, and coach Mauricio Pochettino later clarified that he sat out for “personal reasons”.

What did the French FA say about Gueye’s absence?
“This absence (against Montpellier)… is very widely interpreted as a refusal to participate,” the French Football Federation’s (FFF) ethics board said in a statement seen by APF.

“One of two things, either the hypotheses are unfounded and we invite you to immediately express yourself in order to silence these rumours.

“Or the rumours are true. In this case we ask you to be aware of the impact of your actions and the very serious error committed.

“In refusing to take part in this collective initiative you are validating discriminatory behaviour and not only against the LGBTQI+ community.”

Reactions to Gueye’s no-show
Gueye has not spoken out about his absence from the game, but Senegal president Macky Sall wrote in favour of the player in a message published on Twitter.

“I support Idrissa Gana Gueye. His religious beliefs must be respected,” the head of state affirmed on the social media website.

Je soutiens Idrissa Gana Gueye. Ses convictions religieuses doivent être respectées.

— Macky Sall (@Macky_Sall) May 17, 2022

Crystal Palace’s Cheikhou Kouyate also supported the midfielder, calling him a “real man”; a comment that manager Patrick Vieira promised to investigate should Gueye’s absence be confirmed as owing to objections over the weekend’s gesture.

“If this is the case, I will speak to Cheikhou about it. It’ll be an in-house conversation,” he told reporters.

“There is a lot of noise coming out from France and I have been reading the news but I do not see any kind of statement from Paris Saint-Germain or any kind of statement from the player.

“People are assuming so before we get into conclusions, we have to be sure about what we are talking about before creating something really negative.

“Obviously what is clear from myself and the football club is we are supporting Jake and we are fighting against any kind of discrimination.”

Vieira was referring to Jake Daniels, the Blackpool striker who revealed this week that he is gay.