Sports
International Soccer Authority, FIFA, Over-rules Quebec Ban on Patkas
CANADIAN PRESS
Soccer’s world body has struck a blow against Quebec’s turban ban, saying such headwear is perfectly acceptable on the pitch.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association -- FIFA -- said in a statement today (Friday, June 14, 2013) it is authorizing the wearing of male head covers at all levels of Canadian soccer.The statement says the headwear must be the same colour as the jersey, look professional, must not be attached to the jersey and not pose any danger to players.
FIFA’s position comes four days after the Canadian Soccer Association suspended Quebec’s soccer federation after the provincial body banned the wearing of Sikh headwear.
The Quebec organization had cited safety issues for its decision and the fact that the garments were not endorsed by FIFA.
A spokesman for the Quebec Soccer Federation says it will hold a news conference tomorrow to discuss FIFA’s ruling and that there will be no comment today.
The decision to suspend Quebec will begin being felt this weekend as at least 20 out-of-province teams skip a tournament in Montreal.
Some players in Quebec leagues have decided to wear patkas and turbans in protest of the ban.
That ban had the support of Quebec’s Parti Quebecois government and some sovereigntists have even used the case as an argument for Quebec independence.
However, many federal politicians opposed the ban and applauded the CSA suspension -- with the Conservatives and Liberals being the most forceful.
The FIFA decision extends a decision on female head scarves from October 2012.
FIFA sent a letter to the Canadian Soccer Association on Thursday (June 13) and authorized it to permit all players to wear head covers “in all areas and on all levels of the Canadian football community.”
FIFA said the matter will be discussed again in October with a final decision taking place in March 2014.
The World Sikh Organization welcomed FIFA’s declaration.
“It’s been our position from the outset that the accommodation of the turban shouldn’t hinge on FIFA rules but instead on Canadian tradition on diversity and acceptance and also on Canadian rules and law,” said spokesman Balpreet Singh.
“This announcement is certainly good news, it’s absolutely clear now that any restriction on the wearing of the turban is illegitimate and we’re hopeful the Quebec Soccer Federation will now immediately lift its ban.
“The children should really be allowed to play as soon as possible.”
FIFA has sent a letter to the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) on 13 June 2013 to inform the CSA that:
Following communication between the CSA and FIFA, the matter related to Law 4 – The Player’s Equipment, the use of head covers and the situation arisen within the CSA has been presented to the members of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) for discussion.
The IFAB has exceptionally agreed to extend the conditions of the current experiment previously approved by IFAB in October 2012 (as per FIFA circular no. 1322, see PDF on the right hand side), and to allow male players in Canada to wear head covers as well, as long as the following conditions are respected:
The head cover must:
• be of the same colour as the jersey
• be in keeping with the professional appearance of the player’s equipment
• not be attached to the jersey
• not pose any danger to the player wearing it or any other player (e.g. opening/closing mechanism around neck)The letter sent by FIFA to the CSA on 13 June 2013 authorises the CSA to permit all players to wear head covers as described above, in all areas and on all levels of the Canadian football community.
This matter will once again be discussed by the IFAB in October 2013, before a final decision is reached at the next Annual General Meeting of the IFAB, taking place in March 2014.
June 14, 2013
Conversation about this article
1: Manpreet Singh (Hyderabad, India), June 14, 2013, 1:00 PM.
This is great news! Sikhs are finally becoming politically active and now know how to get things done. Thanks to the good Canadians who supported Sikh-Canadians in all possible ways. God bless you all!
2: Irvinder Singh Babra (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), June 14, 2013, 1:51 PM.
Quebec, you suck in sports from head to toe! The Olympics in Montreal in 1976 remains one of the biggest financial disasters for Quebec and Canada; your sports ministers tried to intervene in many matters and failed miserably, and now FIFA has shown you the door. Time to learn, and to honour all Sikh-Canadian and other footballers who supported them.
3: Blighty Singh (London, England), June 16, 2013, 3:14 PM.
'FIFA' did not, as this article suggests, over-rule the ban. FIFA, although football's governing body, is not the rule making body for the sport. The rule-making body is IFAB, and, in acknowledgment to the founding fathers of the game, IFAB is made up entirely of British footballing bodies. When it comes to 'rules and regulations' FIFA's job is merely to take instruction from IFAB and enforce those rules.