No Muslim girl is allowed to play the sport?When Asmahan "Azzy" Mansour, 11, gets dressed for soccer games, she wears red.
Red socks, red shorts and a red shirt.
And just like she does every morning, Azzy also puts on her hijab, a traditional head covering worn by many Muslim women.
She wears a red hijab, to match her red uniform.
Yesterday, the Nepean Hotspurs Selects, an under-12 girls soccer team made up of 18 sixth-graders, walked off the field at a tournament in Laval, Que., after a referee ordered Azzy to take off her hijab because he felt it was a physical threat to the other players.
It was the first time she had been asked to remove her hijab on the soccer pitch.
"I don't understand why I can't play," she said by phone yesterday from the sidelines of the tournament after her team withdrew and forfeited their games.
"This is so sad. It's my religion."
Four other youth soccer teams from Ottawa -- three from the Nepean Hotspurs organization and an Ottawa South United team -- also forfeited their games and left the field in protest.
According to guidelines of FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, "a player shall not use equipment or wear anything (including any kind of jewelry) that could be dangerous to himself or another player."
The problem comes in exactly how provincial refereeing bodies, and referees themselves, interpret the guidelines.
The Ontario Soccer Association allows players to wear religious head gear. The Quebec soccer federation does not specify whether players are allowed to wear religious headgear.
The international FIFA rules do not specify anything about wearing hijabs, or any religious headgear.
Louis Maneiro, the coach of Azzy's team, said that a day earlier, Azzy had played in the tournament and the referee had not said anything.
"This is ridiculous," he said, adding that many of the girls on the team were in tears over the issue.
"They regard it as being a physical threat to other players. This is basically telling the world that no Muslim girl is allowed to play the sport."
Red socks, red shorts and a red shirt.
And just like she does every morning, Azzy also puts on her hijab, a traditional head covering worn by many Muslim women.
She wears a red hijab, to match her red uniform.
Yesterday, the Nepean Hotspurs Selects, an under-12 girls soccer team made up of 18 sixth-graders, walked off the field at a tournament in Laval, Que., after a referee ordered Azzy to take off her hijab because he felt it was a physical threat to the other players.
It was the first time she had been asked to remove her hijab on the soccer pitch.
"I don't understand why I can't play," she said by phone yesterday from the sidelines of the tournament after her team withdrew and forfeited their games.
"This is so sad. It's my religion."
Four other youth soccer teams from Ottawa -- three from the Nepean Hotspurs organization and an Ottawa South United team -- also forfeited their games and left the field in protest.
According to guidelines of FIFA, the international governing body of soccer, "a player shall not use equipment or wear anything (including any kind of jewelry) that could be dangerous to himself or another player."
The problem comes in exactly how provincial refereeing bodies, and referees themselves, interpret the guidelines.
The Ontario Soccer Association allows players to wear religious head gear. The Quebec soccer federation does not specify whether players are allowed to wear religious headgear.
The international FIFA rules do not specify anything about wearing hijabs, or any religious headgear.
Louis Maneiro, the coach of Azzy's team, said that a day earlier, Azzy had played in the tournament and the referee had not said anything.
"This is ridiculous," he said, adding that many of the girls on the team were in tears over the issue.
"They regard it as being a physical threat to other players. This is basically telling the world that no Muslim girl is allowed to play the sport."
No comments:
Post a Comment