FALSE CLAIMS THAT the Premier League is banning rainbow laces and captain’s armbands have spread widely online.

The Premier League has recently ended a partnership with an LGBTQ+ charity that saw players encouraged to wear rainbow laces on their boots. However, the Premier League says it remains committed to improving LGBTQ+ inclusivity and that players can still wear rainbow laces if they wish.

“BREAKING”, begins a 7 August post on Facebook shared more than 1,400 times. “The Premier League have announced they are BANNING rainbow laces and rainbow captains armbands for the upcoming season, stating that the initiative was causing more issues than it was delivering a positive message….”

Many of the messages under this post seem to interpret this as a reactionary milestone in a culture war. “The tide is finally starting to turn in England,” reads one popular post. “Standby for the woke meltdown in 3..2..1..” reads another.

Others were not so celebratory: “Imagine being upset by a rainbow?” wrote one user.

In any case, the claim made in the post, about a ban on rainbow accessories, is not true.

Rather, it was announced earlier this month that the Premier League is cutting its ties with the charity Stonewall. The partnership had involved a famous campaign to get players to voluntarily wear rainbow laces to signal that gay people are welcome in football.

A number of prominent organisations have cut ties with Stonewall in recent years, including government departments, universities, and the BBC, with some citing cost concerns, undue levels of influence, or saying they wanted to avoid the appearance of bias.

However, the Premier League says that while their partnership has ended, they are now developing their own campaign to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion, expected to launch next February, and that rainbow accessories are not banned. 

“It has always been a players’ choice,” a Premier League spokesperson told The Journal about rainbow laces, though noted that equipment regulations generally fall under rules of the International Football Association Board rather than the Premier League.

It is understood that captains have agreed to wear standard Premier League armbands going forward. However, this is not due to an official ban by the Premier League, and captains have previously worn different armbands for a season.

There are currently no openly gay or bisexual players in the Premier League, according to the BBC. 

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