National football player Orkun Kökçü received positive reactions as well as criticism when he announced that he would not wear the Feyenoord’s rainbow-colored captain's armband, because it symbolizes LGBT, in the away match against AZ Alkmaar yesterday.
In a statement to the press after the match, Slot, the coach of Feyenoord, stated that Kökçü's decision not to wear the rainbow-colored captain's armband should be met with respect, “We had a meeting with him at the beginning of the week and I understood that I could not convince him. He was very confident not to do this because of his religion, so we picked another captain for this match. We welcome other people's opinions,” he said.
Stating that the meeting with the player was not easy, the manager of the team, Dennis te Kloese, said, “For valid reasons, it is not right to force someone to do what they do not stand behind. If that's a valid reason for him, you should respect that. We are proud of the development in Orkun in recent weeks according to technical and football quality.”
Former national football player Pierre van Hooijdonk said, “He knows what to do. You have to respect that, but I'm sorry. This is a missed opportunity,” he said.
It was shared that the captain of the Excelsior team, Redouan El Yaakoubi, also did not wear the rainbow-colored captain's armband.
Orkun Kökçü said on the club's official website yesterday, “I believe everyone is free to do whatever they want or feel. I don't feel like I'm the right person to support this because of my religious beliefs. That's why I don't feel comfortable wearing the captain's armband. I can imagine that some will be disappointed with this. I hope my religious choice will be respected as well.”