Al-Ettifaq accused of greying out Jordan Henderson’s rainbow Liverpool armband in announcement video after sealing £12m deal for ex-Reds captain
- Henderson’s move has attracted criticism from a number of supporters’ groups
- The 33-year-old will become the highest-paid English player of all time in Saudi
- Premier League transfer window: Club-by-club list of all the summer transfers
Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq has been accused by fans on social media of greying out Jordan Henderson’s rainbow captain’s armband in their announcement video.
The former Liverpool skipper officially joined Al-Ettifaq on Thursday in a £700,000-a-week move that makes him the highest paid English player of all time.
The Saudi club – which is not one of the four teams owned by the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, PIF – recently appointed Henderson’s old Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard as manager at the start of this summer’s transfer window.
But as they shared news of his arrival with a video announcement, which paid to the 33-year-old’s meteoric rise from Sunderland youth prospect to Anfield legend, on their social media channels, a number of users noticed a detail about the clip’s stylised edit.
Fans took to Twitter to accuse the Saudi Arabian side of editing several photographs in the video to decolourise the rainbow armbands worn by Henderson.
Jordan Henderson (right) has left Liverpool to join up with Steven Gerrard (left) at Al-Ettifaq
A number of supporters on social media drew attention to the greyed-out editing of Henderson’s rainbow armband in the Saudi Arabian club’s video announcing his transfer
Some fans pointed out a potential connection between the video’s artistic edit and the Kingdom’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws
In one of the pictures used in the video, Henderson appears to be wearing one of the armbands worn by captains in support of the Premier League’s partnership with Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign, to demonstrate the league’s commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia and Henderson’s move to Al-Ettifaq has drawn much criticism from a number of fans, including the Kop Outs supporters’ group.
In response to the video, one fan wrote: ‘It would appear that Ettifaq have made a stylistic choice to grey out the colour of most of Jordan Henderson’s captain armbands in this video. I’m sure it has nothing to do with some of them featuring the rainbow LGBTQ+ flag though…’
Another seemed to mock: ‘“Aye pal just turn his rainbow armband black & white with a massive square for half the video, no one will notice”’
A third added: ‘Henderson’s saudi announcement vid. They have genuinely chosen to grey out the captains armband to avoid any chance of a rainbow… Grim.’
While another simply put: ‘They actually made the rainbow armbands black and white’.
A number of other users on social media claimed the armband had been ‘disguised’ by the video’s edit.
Henderson has previously been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, and has been recognised for his support, winning a nomination for ‘Football Ally’ at the LGBT+ Awards in 2021 for his engagement with fans on the issue.
Fans shared their thoughts on Twitter in the wake of criticism of Henderson’s move to Saudi
Liverpool’s supporters’ board is the latest organisation to have voiced their concern over Henderson’s move to Saudi Arabia, saying upon the announcement of his departure from Merseyside that they were ‘disapppointed by his decision and the hurt and division it has created’.
Henderson’s former team-mate Jamie Carragher also shared his thoughts on the move, adding that the midfielder ‘has a big problem to deal with’.
‘I fully understand that criticism and it is justified,’ he wrote in his Telegraph column. ‘Jordan was heralded on the back of his speaking out, so he has difficult questions to answer, and the critical reaction towards him will have a negative impact moving forward for those communities who cherish support from high-profile figures.
‘When other footballers hear the criticism directed at him, they will not say “I can’t go to Saudi”.
‘They will be told by their advisors to keep their mouth shut in case they move there in future, thus avoiding accusations of hypocrisy.
‘That will equate to buying silence – a grave impact of sportswashing.’
The 33-year-old has been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ issues and was nominated for ‘Football Ally’ at the LGBT+ Awards in 2021 (wearing the Premier League armband to raise awareness for Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign in 2022)
Henderson has left Liverpool after 12 years, eight of which saw him wear captain’s armband
Alongside the critique of Henderson’s move were a wave of tributes shared by his former Liverpool team-mates, and manager Jurgen Klopp.
Henderson’s transfer to Saudi seems set to be followed by Fabinho, who was left out of Klopp’s pre-season trip to Singapore ahead of a reported £40million move to Al-Ittihad.
The Kingdom’s high-profile recruitment drive looks likely to continue at pace, but one player keen to stay in the European top flight is Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe.
The France captain is thought to have snubbed a staggering £295m move to Al-Hilal.
Source: Read Full Article
