I Hope Anonymous Was Trying To Be Facetious

Because I don't see anything that would justify "ejecting the mother."As I stated before we have gone through this "headgear" issue a number of times the only ones who gained seem to have been constitutional lawyers.

FIFA should have overruled Quebec on hijab ban: ejected Ottawa girl's mother
Contributed by: Anonymous
March 3, 2007

FIFA should have overruled Quebec on hijab ban: ejected Ottawa girl's mother

By ANDY BLATCHFORD

MONTREAL (CP) - The mother of an 11-year-old girl is unhappy with the way the rules division of international soccer's governing body handled the issue of Muslim girls wearing traditional headgear during organized matches.

The International Football Association Board was asked to consider the case of Asmahan Mansour, an Ottawa-area soccer player recently ejected from an indoor game in Quebec for wearing a hijab.

The referee of the game in Laval, north of Montreal, said the scarf was a safety concern.

IFAB officials concluded Saturday in Manchester, England that existing rules for on-field equipment are adequate.

"If you play football, there's a set of laws and rules, and law 4 outlines the basic equipment," said Brian Barwick, chief executive of the English Football Association, which is one of the board's members. "It's absolutely right to be sensitive to people's thoughts and philosophies, but equally there has to be a set of laws that are adhered to, and we favour law 4 being adhered to."

Law 4 states that players "must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player (including any kind of jewellery)."

IFAB is the branch of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) - soccer's world governing body - in charge of rules.

Maria Mansour, the girl's mother, said the ejection "humiliated" her daughter.

She hoped the IFAB would be sensitive to the issue.

"As far as the decision, it is disappointing because... IFAB should clarify and be more sensitive to these cases," Maria Mansour said Saturday by telephone from Ottawa. "I truly think they should have (overridden) what Quebec's rule is. (Asmahan) is still hoping that Quebec will remove that rule someday so she will be able to play (in Quebec).

"There's nothing that has been accomplished."