New York Times: FIFA Seeks to End Quebec Soccer’s Ban on Turbans

“This announcement is certainly good news; it’s absolutely clear now that any restriction on the wearing of the turban is illegitimate, and we’re hopeful the Quebec Soccer Federation will now immediately lift its ban,” Balpreet Singh, a lawyer for the World Sikh Organization of Canada, said in a statement. “The children should really be allowed to play as soon as possible.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/sports/soccer/fifa-seeks-to-end-quebec-soccers-ban-on-turbans.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print

By SAM BORDEN

The governing body for international soccer sought to end a Canadian stalemate Friday, releasing a statement that said the Quebec Soccer Federation’s ban on players wearing turbans was inappropriate and that such headwear is acceptable.

FIFA, which oversees all aspects of the game globally, got involved in the issue four days after the Canadian Soccer Association suspended the Quebec Soccer Federation, known as the F.S.Q., for enacting the ban on turbans despite the Canadian association’s recent memo that turbans and similar religious headwear should be allowed.

The F.S.Q. did not immediately respond to the news, other than to say that the organization would have a news conference Saturday to address the ruling.

“This announcement is certainly good news; it’s absolutely clear now that any restriction on the wearing of the turban is illegitimate, and we’re hopeful the Quebec Soccer Federation will now immediately lift its ban,” Balpreet Singh, a lawyer for the World Sikh Organization of Canada, said in a statement. “The children should really be allowed to play as soon as possible.”

If the F.S.Q. drops its ban and has its suspension lifted, it will end a bizarre sequence of events that mushroomed into something much larger than simply an issue related to soccer.

Leaders for the F.S.Q. had cited safety concerns in explaining the ban on turbans — though its director general also admitted she had no data indicating that any injuries had been sustained by players because they were wearing turbans. Many saw the F.S.Q.’s actions as simply the latest example of consternation in Quebec regarding politics, religion and immigration.

Despite the F.S.Q.’s being the only provincial federation to ban turbans, the ban was supported by the Parti Québécois, and some even used it as a way to highlight Quebec’s need for independence.

“I believe the Quebec federation has the right to make its own rules,” Pauline Marois, Quebec’s premier, said. “It’s autonomous, not subject to the Canadian federation. In this regard, I support it in its orientations.”

Other politicians criticized the ban as being specious, however, and FIFA concurred when it said in its statement that the C.S.A. should “permit all players to wear head covers” and that the ruling applied to “all areas and on all levels of the Canadian football community.”

FIFA noted that it was simply extending a previous ruling that allowed female players to wear hijabs and added a few basic conditions, like a requirement that the headwear not be dangerous to any player (by using a metal closure, for example).