Feyenoord & Excelsior team captains refuse to wear rainbow armbands

Feyenoord captain Orkun Kökcü and Excelsior captain Redouan El Yaakoubi caused a stir in the Netherlands this weekend by not wearing the One Love rainbow armband during Eredivisie matches. Both felt uncomfortable wearing the armband due to their religious beliefs, NOS reports.

Dutch football association KNVB wants the One Love captain’s armband to be a signal of unity and connection regardless of origin, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation. The association sees it as a statement against all forms of discrimination. The tenth round of the Eredivisie this weekend coincided with Coming Out Day, so support for the LGBTQIA+ community got most of the focus.

Kökcü said he did not feel comfortable wearing the rainbow armband due to his religious beliefs. “I think it’s important to emphasize that I respect everyone regardless of religion, background, or preference,” he stressed. “I think everyone is free to do what they want and feel what they feel. I fully understand the importance of this action, but because of my religious beliefs, I don’t feel the right person to support it.”

Feyenoord both wanted to support the LGBTQIA community and respect Kökcü’s position, so it had reserve captain Gernot Trauner be the captain and wear the armband during the match against AZ on Sunday.

Excelsior faced a similar dilemma but solved it differently. El Yaakoubi remained the captain in the match against Ajax but wore an adapted armband. Instead of the One Love rainbow, his armband was white with the text “respect.”

“I chose to give a different message. More all-encompassing,” El Yaakoubi said. “It’s about everyone having respect for each other. Not just a group or a certain theme. There are more problems in the world that we can talk about.”

The Roze Kameraden, Feyenoord’s LGBTQIA+ supporters club, was disappointed by Kökcü’s decision. “Wearing the armband would have been a strong signal,” Roze Kameraden chairman Paul van Dorst said to RTL Nieuws. “It’s everyone’s own individual choice, and you have to respect that, but we would have preferred it differently.”