Idrissa Gueye refuses to wear PSG shirt featuring rainbow symbol

Gueye refused to play in a match because she wanted to avoid wearing a rainbow symbol.

He was not in the lineup for Saturday's win over Montpellier.

Gueye missed the game for personal reasons, according to Mauricio Pochettino.

The French Football Federation wrote to Gueye to explain why he was absent.

The representatives of Gueye have been contacted by the BBC Sport.

Crystal Palace's Cheikhou Kouyate andWatford's Ismaila Sarr have posted on social media in support of their teammate.

A caption on the picture of himself and Gueye called them a real man. The picture of him and Gueye was accompanied by three heart emojis and the caption was 100%.

In response to the post, the company said they would offer further education and support to any of their employees.

Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira said at a news conference on Wednesday that if his player had posted in relation to Gueye, he would speak to them.

Homosexuality is a crime in the country and can lead to prison sentences of up to five years.

For the second year in a row, clubs in France have been invited to wear rainbow-design numbers on their shirts to mark International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

In addition to missing Saturday's win over Montpellier, Gueye, who arrived at PSG for £30m in July 2019, missed last year's show of solidarity citing gastroenteritis, according to Le Parisien newspaper, who first reported the reason for his absence.

The Agence France-Presse said on Wednesday that it had seen a letter from the ethics board of the FFF asking Gueye to explain why he missed the game.

The letter calls for him to issue a public apology or to deny the rumors that he refused to play.

If he refused to play, he would be deemed to be discriminating.

They said that they were very proud to wear this shirt.

The biggest stars of world football were on the field on Saturday and expressed their commitment to the fight against homophobia and all forms of discrimination.

Gueye has been supported by politicians in the country.

The country's president Macky Sall wrote on Twitter that Gueye's Muslim beliefs must be respected, while sport minister Matar Ba wrote that Gueye was backed by his country's people, alongside a picture of the midfielder on pilgrimage to Mecca.