The Football Association (FA) is facing a legal case over its support of the LGBTQ+ community through the Rainbow Laces campaign with claims that it breaches a ban on political messaging.
Newcastle United fan Linzi Smith has plans to sue the FA, saying that the wearing of rainbow armbands and laces by football players endorses “gender ideology”.
In a letter of action to the FA seen by The Telegraph, Smith’s lawyers wrote: “The Football Association has acted unlawfully by encouraging, authorising, or directing players in the Premier League to wear equipment including boot laces and armbands in rainbow colours during the ‘Rainbow Laces’ campaign.”
“Such equipment is prohibited under the [FA] rules as constituting or conveying a political message, statement or image, including because it demonstrates support for a contested political viewpoint, namely that gender ideology should be accepted and influence policy or law-making.”
Smith is now crowdfunding for the legal case, telling The Telegraph that “politics have no place in football”.
Smith, who is a self-proclaimed advocate for lesbian, bisexual, and women’s rights, was previously banned from matches and had her membership to Newcastle United revoked until at least 2026 due to social media posts featuring gender-critical and transphobic views.
These posts included claiming that trans women were men and that she didn’t “believe in the transitioning of children”, according to GB News.
“My own personal experience in this area has shown me it isn’t about inclusion. If it were, I wouldn’t have been subjected to the sanctions I have by my own football club. It is about pushing a highly contested ideology on to people, whether they like it or not. Enough is enough,” she told The Telegraph.
This comes after Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi was criticised for writing “Jesus loves you” on his captain’s rainbow armband in a match against Ipswich Town earlier this year, which the FA said went against its rules about religious messaging on kits.
Smith’s legal letter referenced the incident, saying that the FA’s actions were “irrational” because of how it “treats religious messages as inappropriate but political messaging as not without any proper justification”.
The FA’s Rainbow Laces campaign was launched in 2013 as a joint initiative with Stonewall and the Premier League. Wearing a rainbow armband is completely voluntary and a matter of personal choice for teams and players, according to the FA.
A spokesperson for the FA told The Telegraph: “We believe that football should be for all, and we have supported the Rainbow Laces campaign for over 10 years.”
“Together with our partners and the leagues across English football, we have helped to promote this inclusive and voluntary campaign to provide allyship to the LGBTQ+ community across all levels of our game. We do not consider the campaign to breach any of our rules.”
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