I stand with the rainbow refuseniks

Anyone who faces down the increasingly intolerant LGBTQ+ lobby deserves our solidarity

As a lifelong fan of Wolverhampton Wanderers, I would not ordinarily be inclined to offer my solidarity to the captains of any of our current rivals near the foot of the Premier League table. But I’m about to make an exception.

More than that, I’m going to declare two such individuals, Sam Morsy of Ipswich Town and Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace, my heroes of the week. In fact, for good measure, throw in Noussair Mazraoui, who plays for Manchester United.

In recent days Morsy, Guehi and Mazraoui did something that required a large dose of moral courage. Something that was bound to put them at odds with fashionable opinion and bring them into conflict with the liberal mob. For they, all three of them, did that rare thing: they put personal conviction above political expediency. Specifically, they stood up against the increasingly intolerant LGBTQ+ lobby. And, in doing so, they gave one in the eye to that horrendous and discredited outfit Stonewall.

This week, if you didn’t know it already, was ‘Rainbow Laces’ week in the Premier League – an initiative which sees all the league’s clubs ‘come together’ in celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. On matchdays, stadiums are ablaze with the rainbow colours, with everything from corner flags to perimeter boards being redesigned for the cause.