Sports
Canadian Soccer Association Clarifies Regulaions to Accomodate Sikh Headcoverings on Soccer Field
YUDHVIR RANA
Sikh players wearing any of the head-coverings required by their religion will now be accommodated on the soccer pitch after Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) directed soccer associations and referees across the country that Sikh players who wear the turban are to be accommodated on the soccer pitch.
While hailing the decision World Sikh Organization (WSO) President, Prem Singh Vinning said:"The accommodation of the turban already takes place not just across Canada but across the world. There is no reason why the turban can't be accommodated. We're glad the CSA has clarified the issue for referees and has hopefully resolved this matter for good."
He said that CSA general secretary Peter Montopoli had advised that, in light of the decision of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to allow headscarves for players, and in response to inquiries by referees, the CSA Board of Directors has confirmed that "referees may, until further notice, extend this ruling to the wearing of turbans / patkas / keskis."
Notice of this decision was sent out to the CSA's provincial and territorial members across Canada late last week, said he.
Prem Singh said that the CSA's decision has opened doors to Sikh players in Quebec who had been excluded from soccer leagues because of the turban.
Although soccer leagues across Canada already accommodate the wearing of the turban, it was reported in June 2012 that 17 year old Aneel Singh Samra and other Sikh players in the LaSalle Minor Soccer Association in Quebec had been told that they would not be permitted to play because of their religiously required turbans.
[Courtesy: Times of India. Edited for sikhchic.com]
April 17, 2013