Soccer's ruling body has upheld the position of Quebec tournament officials who banned a competitor from playing in a tournament near Montreal because she wore a head scarf.



Asmahan Mansour, 11, was ejected from the game for not removing her hijab on the field.
The International Football Association Board -- FIFA -- held its annual meeting Saturday in Manchester, England.

The board was asked to make a ruling on the plight of Asmahan Mansour, the 11-year-old who was told last weekend that she couldn't play in the under-12 tournament in Laval unless she removed her religious head-covering known as a hijab.

Brian Barwick, who spoke on behalf of the board, said it is important to be respectful to "people's thoughts and philosophies,'' but added that the rules of the game must be followed.

"We believe our football to be inclusive. It's part of what we believe our football to be," Barwick said during a news conference.

"But of course if you play football there are basic laws. And law four outlines what the basic laws are concerning gear. I think it's absolutely right to be sensitive to people's thoughts and philosophies but equally football has a set of rules it has to adhere to."

Law four lists the items a player is entitled to wear and head scarves are not mentioned.

Goalkeepers are allowed to wear caps and protective headgear.

The Quebec Soccer Association said the headscarf violated a no-headgear rule set down by FIFA for safety reasons.

The soccer referee who ordered Mansour to remove her headscarf was also a Muslim.

When she was ejected from the game for refusing to remove the covering, Mansour's coach withdrew the team from the tournament in protest


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This decision should be appealed.

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Law four lists the items a player is entitled to wear and head scarves are not mentioned.

The law does not say anything about wearing bukta either. Would they eject me if I wear my red bukta?

quote:

Originally posted by Terry Ishmael:

quote:

Law four lists the items a player is entitled to wear and head scarves are not mentioned.

The law does not say anything about wearing bukta either. Would they eject me if I wear my red bukta?

If you wear it on your head. Do we have any Sikh players in the male teams? This could be interesting.

quote:

Originally posted by Mitwah:
Do we have any Sikh players in the male teams? This could be interesting.

I guess that orthodox Jews will not be able to play either. Unless they are willing to remove their skullcaps.

What about wearing my long rasta dreadlocks? That banned?

quote:

Originally posted by Terry Ishmael:
What about wearing my long rasta dreadlocks? That banned?

Nah bai. lang hair is allowed in soccer.

quote:

Originally posted by Terry Ishmael:
What about wearing my long rasta dreadlocks? That banned?

wid beads:):):)

quote:

Originally posted by Terry Ishmael:

quote:

Law four lists the items a player is entitled to wear and head scarves are not mentioned.

The law does not say anything about wearing bukta either. Would they eject me if I wear my red bukta?

LOL

Soccer rulers waffle on hijab issue

Mar 05, 2007 04:30 AM
Rosie DiManno

While the authorities who determine the rules of international soccer were meeting in England over the weekend, Asmahan Mansour was scoring a couple of hummers on a pitch in Ottawa.

A wonderful picture of the 11-year-old in full goal-kicking throttle, was on the front page of yesterday's Ottawa Citizen.

She is wearing a hijab colour-co-ordinated with her team's red uniform. Only the most churlish, or pedantic, would claim there is anything remotely provocative – or athletically unsafe – about the girl's head covering.

A hijab tucked into the collar – suppliers actually produce a sports version of the cowl, though Asmahan appears to have cleverly fashioned her own – is surely no more of a concern than turbans or yarmulkes, worn for religious purposes, or headbands, worn for sweat and tidiness, or do-rags, worn for style.

This fact kicks out the underpinnings of uniform regulations, as cited by the International Football Association Board, which Saturday upheld the premise that saw Asmahan ejected from a under-12 tournament in Quebec, ostensibly for violating equipment rules.

Despite assertions to that effect, the IFAB didn't make any ruling on the hijab itself. In upholding the referee's call – and this guy happened to be Muslim – the soccer satraps were merely being conformist to the letter, and typically pedagogical. They didn't explore the implications of a rule that, when applied stiffly, fails the common sense test. Essentially, they upheld the right of officials to interpret a rule that outlines basic equipment for the sport.

This referee decided Asmahan's hijab broke the rules. The referees at Asmahan's two earlier matches – before her coach and teammates withdrew in protest (there's team spirit) along with 40 players from five other clubs – presumably had no problem with the traditional headgear. Nor did those who officiated at Saturday's game, won by Asmahan's Nepean Hotspurs.

One might reasonably ask for clarity on this matter from soccer's governing body. But the bwanas ducked it.

A suspicious mind could wonder why the axe fell when it did, with a Muslim official in stripes, thereby deflecting at least some of the faith-based outrage. "I'm not making accusations without proof,'' says Mohamed El Rashidy, director of the Canadian Arab Federation and a Level 2 referee for the Ontario Soccer Association. "But you had all these conveners watching and they don't make a decision until the third game, with a referee who happens to be Muslim. A little light goes on in my head. It just seems rather strange.''

El Rashidy takes the sensible view that the IFAB (non) ruling doesn't mean much. "Nothing's changed. They didn't ban the hijab. There are girls all over the world who play soccer wearing it. FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) has allowed it.''

Indeed, FIFA has repeatedly stated its goal of attracting more female players to the game, including in Muslim countries where soccer is passionately followed. Further, the hijab is no obstacle at marquee events such as the Olympics, where female Muslim athletes routinely compete wearing it. The contention that most are competing in a non-contact sport is a lame digression.

Unlike its Quebec counterpart, which has taken the position that the hijab violates the sport's "no-headgear rule,'' the Ontario Soccer Association has ruled religious headgear is permissible if referees judge it to be properly secured.

In a memorandum to its membership, the OSA notes: "We have more than 10,000 referees and, from time to time, there will be an individual who may not thoroughly understand the policy or the practice – so there may be other occurrences of some issues until the education process is completed.''

Asmahan's family say the girl was "humiliated'' both by her ejection and by the IFAB's endorsement of the referee's decision. But it should be understood that, as an issue, this was about the latitude allowed referees in interpreting rules. It is here that FIFA needs to formulate explicit policy, so that individuals don't make unilateral rulings that clash unnecessarily with religious practices. FIFA must prove that the hijab puts any player at risk or accept that it doesn't and make that clear.

There has been, however, some inaccurate portrayal here of the hijab as a religious observance or obligation.

In my travels through the Muslim world, it is highly unusual for an 11-year-old girl to wear the hijab, even in the most conservative societies. They often wear loose flowing veils, the brighter the better, but take the hijab only after reaching puberty, as adolescents. There is neither religious requirement in Islam, nor cultural pressure, to ask it of young girls.

Asmahan clearly has a mind of her own. Whether particularly pious or precocious, she made the decision for herself at age 9, with the full support of her parents. Religious practices, and accommodation of same, may be the subtext in this controversy, but there is no article of faith that is being denied the youngster in this specific case.

"That's not the issue,'' argues her mother, Maria, who wears the hijab only when she prays. "It's not something that I would have chosen for her. But she made that decision and I look at it as a blessing. She practises Islam, she prays five times a day. It makes her complete.''

Mansour is palpably proud of her daughter. "She has kept her composure throughout all of this,'' she told the Star yesterday. "She says she wouldn't go back to not wearing it, not even for a million dollars.''

While inundated with media inquiries, and not particularly enjoying the public spotlight, Mansour is heartened by the support her daughter has received from her coach, teammates and teachers – as well as the many strangers who've called to express solidarity. Not enough attention has been paid to all the other girls who, quite willingly it appears, sacrificed their participation in the under-12 Canadian indoor championships for which they had trained mightily. It says a great deal about Canadian values that even opponents pulled out in disgust.

"We are very proud, as Canadians, that so many people have stepped up to show what it means to be a Canadian,'' says Mansour.

Asmahan said on the weekend she just hopes all this will be resolved by the time she's old enough to try out for the national team.

Till then, "Azzy'' will just play on. Except, unfortunately, on game days when some hard-ass boots the call.



SPECIALSHouses of the Holy
Kicking things arou

SOCCER RULE-MAKERS MUST TAKE STAND ON HIJAB-WEARING PLAYERS, MUSLIM GROUP SAYS - TOP
Ambiguous position effectively bars millions of women
Bruce Ward, Ottawa Citizen, 3/5/07
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=...643-4ece2c6b2c62&k=0

The hijab issue in soccer will not go away until the sport's governing body clarifies its position, says an Ottawa-based Muslim advocacy organization.

"I don't think crawling under the proverbial rug and hiding out until it's all over is going to work for FIFA," said Sarah Elgazzar, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN).

The International Football Association Board (IFAB), which consists of FIFA and the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish soccer associations, sidestepped the issue last weekend when it decided not to rule specifically on whether players can wear the hijab in a game.

Ms. Elgazzar said a simple, creative solution would settle the hijab issue - if soccer's rule-makers were willing to show some leadership.

"It they were a little bit creative, they could say religious headgear is permissible as long as it is conceived for sports," she said Monday in a telephone interview from Montreal.

"There are sports hijabs everywhere in the world; they're very easy to make. It's a cotton tube. It's nothing more than a bandanna that's a little longer. I'm a soccer player and I'm not going to run out and wear a burqa-style headscarf. It's in my own interests to be comfortable, and to not hurt myself while I'm playing."

The issue hit the headlines in late February when 11-year old Asmahan "Azzy" Mansour was ordered to remove her hijab or leave the field during a tournament in Laval, Que. Her team - the Nepean Hotspurs Selects - walked off the pitch with her to protest the referee's ruling, which is backed by the Quebec Soccer Association.

"For decades, women have struggled to have equal opportunity and treatment on the playing field," Ms. Elgazzar said in a statement. "In remaining ambiguous on the question of hijab and backing the Quebec referee's decision, FIFA has effectively blocked millions of women from playing the sport.

Added Ms. Elgazzar: "On the one hand, FIFA promotes soccer amongst women by featuring hijab-clad women on their website; on the other, they have given free rein to individual referees to allow or prohibit the hijab. The situation is untenable." (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-CAN: FIFA HIJAB RULING DESERVES RED CARD - TOP
Edmonton Journal, 3/6/07
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/opinion/stor...33-b82a-acd43195b3e4

A group of 11-year-old soccer players demonstrated more wisdom than the adults officiating at their tournament last week near Montreal.

When Asmahan Mansour, 11, was suddenly told she couldn't play if she wore her Muslim headscarf, her young teammates walked off the floor in solidarity, and to show their dismay at the poor judgment of the referee.

The team from Ottawa, where there is no ban on the hijab, ultimately pulled out of the tournament rather than play without Mansour.

The rationale of the referee (who is also Muslim) was that the headscarf was a safety hazard, and soccer's international governing body, FIFA, has rules that players "must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player."

But this clashed with the fact that Mansour had already been allowed to play two matches earlier in the Laval tournament.

A closer examination also shows the Quebec ruling is clearly out of step with the rest of the provinces, including Alberta. Mario Charpentier, head of the Edmonton Minor Soccer Association, said Monday they've seen no evidence the hijab is a safety problem and allow girls to wear it on the field. Youngsters also play wearing sweat bands and small scarfs.

Canada's chief soccer referee, Joe Guest, was also surprised at the Quebec ruling because so far the hijab has not created any "on-field problems."

In Guest's view, FIFA rules mean that head gear is permitted, as long as it is safe.

"If you stick with Quebec's interpretation, players can't wear prescription eye- glasses. But they do," he told reporters.

When a religious obligation comes up against the rules of sport, the goal should be to find a way to be inclusive as possible. The alternative -- using rules to exclude a segment of the population for no practical reason -- is not appropriate and not in the spirit of Canada's multicultural society.

Sarah Elgazzar, who speaks for the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, says she played soccer wearing a hijab for several years in Quebec. There maybe a perceived safety problem because the hijab is tied under the neck, she notes, but that can be resolved with Velcro fasteners. (MORE)