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| Sikh youths play soccer behind the Gurdwara Nanak Darbar in the Lasalle district of Montreal on June 14, 2013 (AFP/File, Laurent Vu The) |
MONTREAL — Sikh footballers have been cleared to wear turbans while playing in the Canadian province of Quebec following clarification from world governing body FIFA, officials said Saturday.
The Quebec Soccer Federation provoked an outcry after ruling that Sikhs were not allowed to take to the pitch wearing turbans, prompting the Canadian Soccer Association to issue a suspension of the province.
However, after receiving clarification from FIFA, the QSF has passed a resolution allowing the wearing of turbans.
Quebec officials appeared to suggest Saturday that the controversy was the fault of ambiguity in the wording of the FIFA rules on headgear.
"It has been our intention from the onset to get a confirmation that the FIFA allowed wearing of turbans, patkas or keskis," QSF executive director Brigitte Frot said in a statement.
"We are very happy that the FIFA responded to our request and by the same token dispelled ambiguities created by a lack of clarification.
"Our intervention was solely from a technical point of view and had absolutely nothing to do with religious matters or political issues.
"We were unwillingly led to this path while we were only trying to get information on a regulation issue that falls under the body that governs our sport."
Frot had earlier triggered uproar when she was quoted as saying that if Quebec children wanted to wear turbans while playing football, they could "play in their backyards." She had cited safety concerns as the reason for the ban.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney called the ban "ridiculous" while opposition Liberal leader Justin Trudeau said in a Twitter message: "Barring kids from playing soccer because they wear a turban is wrong."
Copyright © 2013 AFP. All rights reserved.
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Related Article:
Sikhs celebrate reversal of Quebec’s soccer turban ban
BERTRAND MAROTTE | MONTREAL — The Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/sikhs-celebrate-reversal-of-quebecs-soccer-turban-ban/article12593818/
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“It should never have gotten so complicated to begin with,” said Balpreet Singh of the World Sikh Organization of Canada. “But the bright side is that the Sikh community gained a lot of friends, a lot of people across Canada – including Quebec – sent us a lot of messages of solidarity,” said Mr. Singh. “There were certainly positive aspects to this. It was an opportunity for the Sikh community to maybe educate people about who we are and on the significance of the turban. “It was an opportunity to reach across the boundaries of race and culture.” Mr. Singh singled out the Greenfield Park, Que. family that pulled its two boys out of the local soccer league in protest and a team of non-Sikh players on Montreal’s south shore who donned turbans during a game in a show of solidarity. The ban, which effectively excluded about 200 turban-wearing Sikh boys, turned into a political issue after Parti Québécois Premier Pauline Marois said she approved of the decision. Criticism of Quebec over the ban – the only such edict in Canada – was “sad” and “a shame,” she said. The decision garnered international media attention and sparked much criticism. The Quebec soccer federation said on Saturday it would lift the prohibition, after soccer’s world body – FIFA – formally gave its approval to male head coverings on the pitch, as long as they are the same colour as the jerseys, look professional and pose no danger to other players. FIFA issued its decision on Friday after last week’s suspension of the Quebec soccer group by the Canadian Soccer Association over the issue. The Quebec association had based its interdiction on two arguments: that the turbans represented a safety risk and that FIFA had not explicitly endorsed them. “I’m just glad this whole saga is done. I’m glad the reversal came,” said Aneel Samra, an 18-year-old who could no longer play on his LaSalle Soccer Association U-18 team in Montreal. “It shouldn’t even have come to that,” he said, adding that there was a big turnout for a celebratory game on Saturday. Said Mr. Singh: “As long as the kids can play, we’re satisfied.” |
