Jordan Henderson apologises to LGBTQ+ community but backs down on rainbow laces | Football | Sport
Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has apologised to the LGBTQ+ community following his move to Al-Ettifaq. Fear of disrespecting the culture and religion in Saudi Arabia is set to prevent the midfielder from wearing rainbow-coloured laces as part of a campaign to support LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport, however.
Henderson has been a vocal supporter of the Rainbow Laces campaign in recent years. His summer move from Liverpool to Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is illegal, therefore caused significant controversy.
“I can understand the frustration [in the LGBTQ+ community],” Henderson told The Athletic. “I can understand the anger. I get it. All I can say around that is that I’m sorry that they feel like that.
“My intention was never, ever to hurt anyone. My intention has always been to help causes and communities where I felt like they have asked for my help. Now, when I was making the decision, the way that I tried to look at it was I felt as though, by myself not going, we can all bury our heads in the sand and criticise different cultures and different countries from afar. But then nothing’s going to happen. Nothing’s going to change.”
When asked whether he would continue wearing rainbow laces as part of the campaign he was such a prominent part of during his time at Liverpool, Henderson responded: “I wouldn’t rule that out. But at the same time, what I wouldn’t do is disrespect the religion and culture in Saudi Arabia.
“If we’re all saying everybody can be who they want to be and everybody is inclusive, then we’ll have to respect that. We’ll have to respect everyone.
“And by doing something like that, if that did disrespect the religion, then no, I’m not going to do that. But if an opportunity comes up where I can do it and it doesn’t, then yeah, because they’re my values.
“I can’t promise anything, but what I can do is sit here and say I have my values and beliefs. And I strongly believe that me playing in Saudi Arabia is a positive thing.”
And Henderson added: “There was an approach from Al-Ettifaq to the club to see if it would be possible for me to go there. The reaction from the club again wasn’t to say no. At that moment I felt as though my value or the want for me to stay, with the manager and within the club, maybe it had shifted.
“I knew that time would come at some point. I didn’t think it would be now. And I had to accept that.I’m at the latter stage of my career and I want to be happy playing football. I want to play.
“I don’t want to be sitting on the bench and coming on for 10 minutes in games. And I knew that would have an effect on my chances of playing for England.”
