The Youth Olympics will be held in Singapore from Aug. 12-25
FIFA dress code rules Iran's girls out of OlympicsFIFA bans Iran's girls from Olympics over hijab
The Youth Olympics will be held in Singapore from Aug. 12-25
SINGAPORE (Agencies)
The Iranian girls' soccer team have been kicked out of this year's first Youth Olympics because of a FIFA ban on playing in Islamic head scarves.
Iran's National Olympic Committee (NOC) had refused to let the team play at the Aug. 14-26 Games in Singapore without the hijab and Thailand was nominated to replace the barred Iranians, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on its Web site.
The hijab is worn by girls and women to observe Islamic dress code.
" FIFA decreed that the wearing of Islamic hijab was not in accordance with the laws of the game "
Asian Football Confederation statement"FIFA decreed that the wearing of Islamic hijab was not in accordance with the laws of the game," the Asian governing body said in a statement.
"The FIFA Executive Committee had no choice but to take the decision that Iran will not be able to participate in the inaugural Youth Olympic Football Tournaments," the AFC quoted a letter from FIFA's general secretary to the Iran Football Federation as saying.
Soccer's tournaments at the Olympics are organized by the world governing body, whose rules allow only the wearing of a shirt or jersey, shorts, socks and footwear to play the game.
FIFA maintains football's international rule book which contains a section on players' on-field equipment.
Law 4 states that "basic compulsory equipment must not have any political, religious or personal statements.
The hijab issue was first examined in 2007 after an 11-year-old girl in Canada was prevented from wearing one for safety reasons.
Some 3,500 athletes aged between 14 and 18 are expected to take part in 26 sports at the inaugural Youth Olympics.
Iran was scheduled to compete in the six-nation tournament for girls being held Aug. 12-25 in Singapore.
Thailand will now represent Asia against Turkey, Equatorial Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile and Papua New Guinea.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/04/06/105063.html
No comments:
Post a Comment