Muslim footballer crudely TAPES OVER anti-homophobia badge on his kit

Monaco have apologised after a Muslim player taped over an anti-homophobia badge on his kit - but the Malian Football Association have backed his stance.

Mohamed Camara cited 'religious reasons' for refusing to take part in the initiative during Monaco's 4-0 win over Nantes on the last day of the Ligue 1 season.

He also refused to be photographed in front of a pro-LGBTQ+ banner before the game and covered a rainbow logo over the Ligue 1 badge on his sleeve.

Players were required to pose in front of a banner backing the 'International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia'.

However, the Malian FA published a statement supporting the player 'in the exercise of his freedom of expression,' adding: 'Players are citizens like any other whose fundamental rights must be protected in all circumstances.'

Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro said: 'As an organisation, we support the league. I called the CEO of the LFP [governing body of Ligue 1 and 2], Arnaud Rouger, to apologise yesterday morning.

'Mo has his religious reasons to do what he did. As you can imagine, it is a very sensitive topic to discuss as we have to respect religion.

'We, as a club, are very sad about this episode. We hope to show this and show that we don't support this. We will manage it internally. What happened this year will not happen again. This episode should not scratch the club's reputation.

'It doesn't represent who we are, as AS Monaco. We are not afraid of punishment. It could happen but we hope not. It doesn't feel fair to punish the whole organisation but I respect the opinions.'

French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera has called for both the player and the club to face penalties.

'It is unacceptable behaviour,' she told radio statio RTL. 'I had the chance to tell the Ligue de Professionnel (LFP) what I thought about it and I think such behaviour must be subject to the strongest sanctions against the player and the club which allowed it to happen.'

Camara has won support in Mali for standing by his faith.

Meanwhile, Monaco manager Adi Hutter said: 'Firstly, we as a club, support the league's initiative, for sure. It was a personal initiative from Mo Camara.

'We will have this conversation with Mo internally. Internally, we will discuss this situation. I had the badges on in the game, I support the league's initiative.'

The incident involving Monaco was not the only one spotted by fans last weekend.

As Lille took on Nice, former Spurs star Nabil Bentaleb appeared to avoid taking part in the pre-match photo in front of the anti-homophobia campaign banner. The former Newcastle loanee crouched to tie his shoe lace to avoid being part of a team photo, the moment caught by live TV cameras.

At the end of last season, Toulouse's Zakaria Aboukhlal and Nantes' Mostafa Mohamed were left out of matchday squads after refusing to take part in the campaign against homophobia. Guimgamp's Donatien Gomis similarly ruled himself out of a clash in Ligue 2.

Monaco finished second in Ligue 1 this season to qualify for the Champions League.