Al-Ettifaq make PETTY rainbow armband snub in Henderson announcement video

Robin Bairner

• 27 Jul 2023 13:50 BST
• 3 min read

Jordan Henderson's move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq is finally official.

After a drawn-out saga, the €14m million move was confirmed by both clubs on Thursday afternoon, but not before video footage of the player training with his new teammates had leaked on social media.

Henderson will link up with Reds legend Steven Gerrard in the Saudi city of Dammam, signing a three-year contract thought to be worth £350k a week.

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Liverpool posted a series of tributes to their departing skipper on their social channels, while Al-Ettifaq also released a video announcement, calling Henderson a player with 'Ettifaq DNA'.

The 46-second video edit shows a series of images of Henderson throughout his career, with voiceover in English and Arabic.

Curiously, every instance in which Henderson is shown wearing a captain's armband, the player's arm is greyed out.

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Henderson's history of LGBT support

While it would be easy to pass this off as a design flourish, the choice also conveniently hides the colours of Henderson's rainbow armband, worn in support of the Rainbow Laces LGBT+ campaign.

Back in 2020, Henderson tweeted regarding the campaign: "If wearing the #RainbowLaces armband helps even just one person then it’s progress. Everyone is welcome at Liverpool Football Club."

Throughout his tenure as Liverpool captain, Henderson was a prominent advocate of inclusivity and was even nominated for a 'Football Ally' award at the British LGBT awards.

However, the midfielder has been widely criticised for a perceived betrayal of his allyship by moving to Saudi Arabia, a country where homosexuality is illegal and, in some cases, punishable by death.

Following the confirmation of Henderson's exit, Liverpool's LGBT+ fan group Kop Outs! posted a thread on Twitter expressing 'disappointment' with the player.

The statement, in part, reads: "Given choices he has recently made, Kop Outs doubt & question if @JHenderson was ever an actual ally.

"We are deeply disappointed that he is choosing to work as part of a sportswashing operation, attempting to distract from a regime where women & LGBT+ people are oppressed, & that regularly tops the world death sentence table."