Patrick Vieira: Crystal Palace are against all kinds of discrimination

Patrick Vieira has played down the support Cheikhou Kouyate has given to Paris St Germain midfielder Idrissa Gueye and insisted Crystal Palace are against all kinds of discrimination.

Gueye failed to feature in PSG’s 4-0 win over Montpellier on Saturday, which was the weekend Ligue 1 had chosen for its clubs to show solidarity ahead of International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia this week.

The French side wore rainbow coloured-numbers to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community, but Gueye was absent for “personal reasons” having also missed the corresponding fixture last year.

Gueye was criticised and it occurred in a week where Blackpool’s Jake Daniels came out as the first active gay footballer in England.

Kouyate and Senegal team-mate Ismaila Sarr have both since sent messages of support to their international colleague Gueye on social media.

But Vieira, speaking ahead of Thursday’s trip to Everton, said: “Do you know what the support was? No, I can’t tell you because I don’t know.

“He (Gueye) refused to wear a certain shirt? Did he or Paris St Germain make a statement?

“There is a lot of noise coming out from France and I have been reading the news but I do not see any kind of statement from Paris St Germain or any kind of statement from the player.

“People are assuming so before we get into conclusions, we have to be sure about what we are talking about before creating something really negative.

“Obviously what is clear from myself and the football club is we are supporting Jake and we are fighting against any kind of discrimination.”

Daniels, 17, announced his news on Monday and in the process became the first Briton in the men’s professional game to come out publicly as gay since Justin