Football body urged to drop Muslim headscarf ban

FIFA have deferred the date of a decision on whether Muslim women can play football in a headscarf, until July.

The annual meeting of the game's ultimate law-making body, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), decided on Saturday (3) in Bagshot, South England to test the specially designed headscarf further before a final decision is taken in a special meeting in Kiev, Ukraine on July 2.

FIFA member Prince Ali of Jordan was trying to persuade football chiefs at the IFAB, the body responsible for the sport's rulebook, to overturn the ban on female Muslim players wearing headscarves.

Until now, the IFAB have banned headscarfs on safety grounds in case they caused head or neck injuries.

Prince Ali, said: "Women's football has come a long way, as we experienced in the last women's World Cup, and the present situation is saying to women worldwide that you're not allowed to participate for a reason that makes no sense.

"That's prejudice. It's not fair. It has to be dealt with.

"Long sleeves and leggings are already allowed. This is not an issue of religious symbolism - it is simple a case of cultural modesty and I'm tackling this now because it is big issue for many, many women all across the world

"I'd be very disappointed for the game if IFAB said 'no'. It's an issue which will not go away and I'm optimistic this will happen.

"If not there will be lot of soul-searching about what the priorities are in this sport. Everyone from the United Nations to the regional federations are supportive so I don't see what the problem is."

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