By Andrew Warshaw
April 1 – French football authorities are upholding a ban on female players wearing headscarves for religious purposes in defiance of the game’s lawmakers.
A month ago, following a two-year trial period, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) finally gave the green light for specially designed head covers to be worn in competitive games – not only by women but men too.
But the French oppose the lifting of the previous prohibition, putting them on a collision course with FIFA.
“Regarding the participation of female French national team players in international competitions on one hand, and the organisation of national competitions on the other, the French Football Federation reiterates its duty to respect the constitutional and legislative principles of secularism that prevail in our country and feature in its statutes,” said the French FA in a statement. “Under these conditions, it maintains the ban on the wearing of all religious or denominational signs.”
Following the IFAB meeting in Zurich, FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke told reporters “it was decided that female players can cover their heads to play.” He added that following a request from Canada’s Sikh community, male players will also be authorised to wear head covers as long as they match the colour of their shirts.
The French stance will infuriate reformists who led the campaign for headscarves to be allowed, not least Asia’s FIFA vice-president Prince Ali Bin Hussein of Jordan who successfully campaigned to have the law amended.
Asian football officials welcomed IFAB’s recent move, saying it would allow more Islamic girls whose parents were not allowing them to play without their heads covered to take up the sport.
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