In early October 2009 in France, Creteil Bebel, a soccer team made up of mainly Muslim players, refused to play a match against Paris Foot Gay, a club that welcomes homosexual and heterosexual players. The dispute got a lot of media attention, and after a week, a resolution finally came in the form of a one-line note last week from the sports league governing the amateur teams. Creteil Bebel was ejected from the league for refusing the match on discriminatory grounds.
The mentioned team cancelled the match at the last moment, via email, roughly translating: "Sorry, but in light of the name of your team and in keeping with the principles of our team, which is a team of practicing Muslims, we cannot play against you; our convictions are stronger than a simple game of soccer. Sorry to have informed you so late."
The backlash brought sensitive issues to attention, namely religion and its place in a secular France as well as homophobia in sports and society at large. The media coverage also stirred debate about the merits of fighting for a cause, such as gay rights, versus not making an issue of one's convictions in a country where emphasizing differences is frowned upon. The story also took an ugly turn that both sides said was unfortunate — a slant that seemed to pit Islam against the gay community.
At hearing was held on October 13 to determine what sanctions the offending team should face. An apology to Paris Foot Gay was expressed, with willingness to carry out the cancelled match. The action of the team’s president, Zahir Belgharbi, was marked as a mistake - sending the "awkwardly worded" email to Paris Foot Gay on the eve of the match. However, given the league's strict rules on discrimination and Belgharbi's absence from the hearing, the committee decided it was too little too late. The next day it announced it had ejected Creteil Bebel.
Paris Foot Gay was founded five years ago, and the club welcomes players of all stripes and exists as a place where gay players don’t have to hide their homosexuality. Currently, no professional soccer player in France has identified himself as gay, even though five out of 20 professional teams have signed charters promising to fight against homophobia in their ranks. "The rest don't want to sign," the president of PFG, Pascal Brethes said.