The Football Association is facing legal action over its Rainbow Laces campaign with claims the annual show of support for the LGBTQ+ community breaches the governing body’s ban on political messaging.

Newcastle United fan Linzi Smith is planning to sue the FA, claiming the wearing of rainbow armbands and laces on the pitch effectively endorses the contested notion of gender ideology. This is the belief that a person can have a gender that is different to their biological sex.

In a letter of action to the FA setting out the basis of her claim, Ms Smith’s lawyers, SinclairsLaw, state: “The Football Association has acted unlawfully by encouraging, authorising, or directing players in the Premier League to wear equipment including boot laces and armbands in rainbow colours during the ‘Rainbow Laces’ campaign.

“Such equipment is prohibited under the [FA] rules as constituting or conveying a political message, statement or image, including because it demonstrates support for a contested political viewpoint, namely that gender ideology should be accepted and influence policy or law-making.”

Ms Smith, an advocate for lesbian, bisexual and women’s rights, has now launched a crowd-funding drive to finance the case.

The action comes after a row over this year’s Rainbow Laces week, during which Marc Guehi, the Crystal Palace captain, reminded about the FA’s rules against messaging on kits after he wrote the words “Jesus loves you” on his captain’s rainbow armband in a match against Ipswich Town.

The FA’s handling of the incident was criticised by MPs after it reminded Guehi of its rules, but did not contact Ipswich captain Sam Morsy over his refusal to wear the armband because of his Muslim faith.

At the same time Manchester United scrapped plans for players to wear a rainbow-themed jacket last Sunday after defender Noussair Mazraoui refused to do so.

Ms Smith’s legal letter argues that the FA’s position regarding Guehi and Morsy has been “irrational”.

It states: “[The FA] has, rightly, disapproved the wearing by Mr Guehi of a religious message, statement or image ... but it has taken exactly the opposite approach to a similarly prohibited political message, statement or image, namely rainbow laces and armbands.

“This is irrational, including on the basis that it is discriminatory: it treats religious messages as inappropriate but political messaging as not without any proper justification.”

The FA’s Rainbow Laces campaign was launched in 2013 as a joint-initiative with Stonewall, the controversial LGBTQ+ charity and lobby group, and the Premier League.

Stonewall has campaigned for self-identification of gender, including amongst young children, and has urged teachers to drop the terms boys and girls in favour of “learners”, and for children to compete against the opposite sex in sport.

Ms Smith, 34, was previously banned from attending Newcastle United matches after expressing gender-critical views on social media. She was accused of being transphobic by a complainant who told the football club that trans people would not feel safe sitting near her.

Northumbria Police interviewed Ms Smith under caution after the club’s dossier was handed to them. They informed her she had not committed an offence, but the club revoked her membership and banned her from games until 2026.

Ms Smith told The Telegraph: “The Rainbow Laces Campaign is portrayed as showing that you are supportive of the LGBTQ+ community and to refuse to participate puts you in the firing line for abuse and criticism.

“No player, staff member or fan should be forced to support something that is in direct conflict with their own personal religion or belief. Politics have no place in football, it is where we go to forget about everything, not be dragged into it.”

She added: “My own personal experience in this area has shown me it isn’t about inclusion. If it were, I wouldn’t have been subjected to the sanctions I have by my own football club. It is about pushing a highly contested ideology on to people, whether they like it or not. Enough is enough.”

FA sources said wearing the Rainbow Laces armband and supporting the campaign was voluntary and a matter of personal choice for teams and players.

A spokesperson for the FA said: “We believe that football should be for all, and we have supported the Rainbow Laces campaign for over 10 years. Together with our partners and the leagues across English football, we have helped to promote this inclusive and voluntary campaign to provide allyship to the LGBTQ+ community across all levels of our game. We do not consider the campaign to breach any of our rules.”