MONACO’S CAMARA WAS GIVEN A FOUR-MATCH BAN FOR COVERING UP AN ANTI-HOMOPHOBIA LOGO.

Mohamed Camara of AS Monaco has been punished for four matches, the French football league (LFP) announced on Thursday, after an anti-homophobia badge on the Malian midfielder’s shirt was covered during a Ligue 1 encounter.

Camara’s shirt emblem was covered with white tape during Monaco’s final league match of the season on May 19, when he scored a penalty in a 4-0 home victory over Nantes.

“After hearing the player Mohamed Camara, and noting his refusal during the meeting to carry out one or more actions to raise awareness of the fight against homophobia, the Commission decided to impose a four-match suspension,” according to a statement released by the LFP.

Amelie Oudea-Castera, the French Sports Minister, had demanded “the strongest sanctions” on the 24-year-old. Following Oudea-Castera’s statements, the Malian Football Federation published a statement supporting the player.

“It is important to remember that players are citizens like any others, whose fundamental rights must be protected in all circumstances,” warned the league.

On Thursday, AS Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro stated that the club supports the French league’s anti-homophobia campaign.

“It was a personal initiative from Mo Camara,” Scuro told French journalists. “We will discuss this with Mo internally. We shall have an internal discussion about this.

Camara’s management company, Unique Sports Group, did not immediately return a request for comment.

Last year, numerous Ligue 1 players declined to participate in a homophobia awareness campaign that required players to wear shirts with rainbow-colored numbers on the back.