A teammate of Hancock’s refused to wear a band in LGBT colors. He’s under fire from critics

Last year, he shot down Slavia twice as captain of Feyenoord Rotterdam, but refused to wear the armband in LGBT colours on Sunday. Midfielder Orkun Kökcü is now being criticised for his actions. That is also why the club has issued a statement.

Kökcü refused to wear the armband because of his religious beliefs. He is Turkish and professes Islam. The club respected his move and made Austrian national team stopper Gernot Trauner captain instead.

“I decided not to wear the armband in this round. It is important to stress that I respect everyone regardless of religion, race or sexual orientation. I believe that everyone is free to do what they want or feel,” reads Kökcü’s statement on the club’s website.

The Turkish midfielder did well without the armband, scoring one goal and assisting once to help the club to a 3-1 win over Alkmaar. Feyenoord moved up to third place with three points, just two points behind leaders Ajax.

But after the game, there was a lot of criticism on social media, even some Feyenoord fans went against their team’s mainstay. They didn’t understand why Kökcü refused to wear the armband when his statement said he had no problem with minorities.

The Turkish midfielder is not remembered well by the Slavs. He made four appearances against them in the Conference League last year and scored two goals.

The first one at home from behind the whitewash in the group stage, the second one in the De Kuip Arena, this time in the quarter-final 3-3 draw.

Source: Feyenoord Rotterdam