RC Lens: player names swapped on shirts as part of an anti-racism initiative

RC Lens (Ligue 1 Uber Eats) has changed the names of its 20 players on the match sheet as part of the anti-racism initiative "Nos noms disent non" (Our names say no), carried out during the game versus Angers SCO (3-0) on Matchday 27 of the 2022-23 season, Saturday 18/03/2023.

"Upon the dressing room's initiative, the club decided, in the greatest discretion and with the authorisation of the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), which is also mobilised, to challenge the general public on the fundamental question of discrimination, or more precisely the prejudices that can accompany the perception of a surname. After a draw before the match, the names in the dressing room were assigned to shirt numbers, which bore the slogan "Our names say no" on the front. A firm and categorical no to the fact that an individual can be discriminated against simply by the sound of his surname and open the way, or rather the dead end, to wider discrimination," explained RC Lens.

For example, Seko Fofana played with a shirt flocked with the name of his teammate Jean-Louis Leca, while Florian Sotoca…