Al-Ettifaq make error in video and cover up Jordan Henderson’s rainbow armband

Al-Ettifaq covered up Jordan Henderson’s rainbow armband in their video to unveil the England midfielder as their latest high-profile signing. The Saudi club, who are managed by Steven Gerrard, officially confirmed the arrival of Henderson on Thursday morning in a deal worth around £12million plus add-ons.

The announcement came a day after Henderson had announced that he would be leaving Liverpool after 12 years at Anfield, during which time he managed to win every available trophy at club level. The video posted on Twitter by Al-Ettifaq to commemorate his arrival was not without controversy, though, as they covered up his rainbow armband in a montage of still images from various points in his career.

His left sleeve was covered with a black-and-white filter in the vast majority of pictures used, which meant that the rainbow colours did not appear in the video, while another image of Henderson wearing the armband was entirely greyed out. Homosexuality is a criminal offence in Saudi Arabia and is technically punishable by death, which has often led to widespread criticism from across the Western world.

The video posted by Al-Ettifaq also included a number of basic spelling mistakes, which caught the eye of several Twitter users as they reacted to the news of Henderson’s move being made official. The player himself has also been condemned by a section of Liverpool’s fanbase and some LGBTQ+ groups in the UK for joining a large number of his fellow professionals in moving to the Saudi Pro League.

Liverpool fan group Kop Outs recently expressed their disappointment regarding the switch, especially given that Henderson has previously been hailed for his vocal support of the LGBTQ+ community in football. The midfielder was nominated for ‘Football Ally’ at the LGBT+ Awards in 2021, while he also spoke out on the human rights issues in Qatar ahead of last year’s World Cup.

“Kop Outs have valued the allyship shown by Jordan Henderson,” the group wrote on Twitter. “We are appalled and concerned that anyone might consider working for a sportswashing operation for a regime where women & LGBT+ people are oppressed and that regularly tops the world death sentence table.

“Gerrard’s participation in this sportswashing is particularly galling given his previous support for LA Galaxy team-mate Robbie Rogers [who came out as gay in 2013]. When someone’s made a fortune, should money tempt them to go to work? Maybe they should be asking themselves those questions.”

Henderson took the captain’s armband at Liverpool in 2015 and made 492 appearances for the club before his move to Al-Ettifaq was officially confirmed. He is the latest high-profile player to join the Saudi Pro League in exchange for a lucrative payday, following in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, Roberto Firmino, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante among many others.

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