Setback to Canadian sports body, suspended for turban ban
Tuesday, 11/06/2013
http://www.punjabnewsline.com/news/setback-to-canadian-sports-body-suspended-for-turban-ban/80823
MONTREAL: Acting tough on Quebec Soccer Federation’s refusal to let turban-wearing children play the game, the Canadian Soccer Association has suspended the provincial association.
The Soccer Association Monday said it had to take the decision as Quebec Soccer Federation did not show any sign of revoking the ban it had imposed on turban wearing Sikhs.
The Association said it expected the provincial it had imposed on turban wearing Sikhs.
The Association said it expected the provincial federation to reverse the ban which had drawn flak from several politicians and organisations across the globe.
The federation had said it was concerned about the safety of players even as FIFA also don’t specifically allow turbans while the critics of the decision said FIFA doesn’t explicitly ban turbans.
The Canadian Soccer Association said the suspension will be lifted once there is proof that Quebec federation has revoked the ban.
Earlier this month, the board of directors of the Quebec Soccer Federation had decided to continue its ban on players wearing turbans on field despite a directive by the Canadian Soccer Association to referees last April to permit head coverings on field.
The QSF had cracked down on players wearing the turban, including the patka and the keski worn by young Sikhs, since last year.
“It was decided that referees in Quebec will apply FIFA’s (Federation of International Football Associations) Law 4, taking into account that the only equipment accepted, and that the only exceptions allowed, are specifically mentioned in Law 4,” the QSF was quoted as saying in a statement.
“While girls are permitted to wear headscarves, I fail to see the logic in prohibiting turbans for Sikh boys,” Prem Singh Vinning, president of the World Sikh Organisation, was quoted as saying in a statement.
“Sikh children have waited patiently since last year for this issue to resolve so they can rejoin their peers on the pitch. Unfortunately, they will have to wait even longer,” he said.
