Monday 21 August 2017 16:44, UK
The Premier League has said it is up to "individual clubs and players" to decide whether to wear rainbow laces this weekend as part of a campaign against homophobia in football.
Gay rights charity Stonewall has sent laces to all professional clubs in England and Scotland asking players to wear the laces in support of the Right Behind Gay Footballers campaign.
A Premier League spokesman said: "The underlying message behind this campaign is a good one, indeed we and our clubs have worked hard with government and other stakeholders to ensure the whole equalities agenda is something we fully are aware of and engaged in.
"However, we were not consulted about this particular campaign. Had we been involved earlier in the process we could have worked with Stonewall to consider things like boot deals, the use of particular betting partners, and other issues.
"It is up to individual clubs and players to decide whether they support this campaign. We have let Stonewall know that we would be happy to talk to them in the future to discuss ways in which we could work together."
