Le Mans’ encouraging start to life back in Ligue 1 has been overshadowed by an off-pitch dispute after Idrissa Gana Gueye joined the club’s investor group alongside former Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva.
The Ligue 1 news
The Senegal international, described as 39 in the announcement, has become involved behind the scenes at the promoted Sarthe club, but his arrival has prompted a boycott call from a national coalition of LGBT+ and anti-discrimination organisations.
In a statement released on Thursday, the collective said it was “deeply outraged” by Gueye’s inclusion among Le Mans investors, calling the decision a “major ethical departure”. It has urged supporters and partners to boycott the club and demanded that Le Mans remove the midfielder from its ownership structure.
The coalition said: “Homophobia is not an opinion; it is an offence.” It accused Le Mans of putting financial interests ahead of ethics and republican values by welcoming an individual who had publicly declined to take part in anti-discrimination campaigns.
The objections relate to Gueye’s past absences from Ligue 1 initiatives against homophobia. The former Paris Saint-Germain player repeatedly declined to wear shirts carrying rainbow-themed anti-homophobia messages during dedicated matchdays organised by the league.
One of the most prominent incidents came in May 2022, when Gueye did not travel with PSG for their Ligue 1 trip to Montpellier on the 37th matchday. Paris Saint-Germain later made clear that the decision had been personal to the player.
Le Mans, newly promoted to the top flight, have made a positive opening to their Ligue 1 campaign. The investment involving Leiva, a former Brazil international, and Gueye has nevertheless placed the club at the centre of a growing debate over discrimination, football’s public campaigns and the responsibilities of those entering club ownership.
