Sikhs 'saddened' by soccer turban ban
For the first time in 11 years, Aneel Samra will not be playing house-league soccer in Lasalle after the Quebec Soccer Federation decided to uphold a ban on turbans.
Turbans, including the patka and keski typically worn by young Sikhs, haven’t been allowed on Quebec soccer fields since the QSF banned them last year.
Samra says some referees would allow him to play while wearing his turban but others would ask him to leave the pitch. This summer he decided not to risk it.
"All Sikh children in Quebec are confused. Everywhere in Canada you're allowed to play but not in Quebec," he says.
The federation says it's following guidelines set by FIFA, the international body that governs soccer. But FIFA hasn't made a clear ruling on turbans.
The spokesperson for the World Sikh Organization of Canada, Balpreet Singh, says soccer associations around the world accommodate players who wear turbans. He says the federation is going to a lot of trouble for nothing.
"It seems like an unnecessary hassle to have to go all the way to FIFA in order for FIFA to rule that six and seven-year-old children can't play with their turbans," says Sing.
Mukhbir Singh is Quebec vice-president of the World Sikh Organization of Canada. He has also been playing soccer in Montreal since he was a child.
He says some of his closest friends were made on the soccer pitch and he learned a lot from the game.
"I'm worried about the long term effects this will have on our Sikh children," says Singh.
The Quebec Quebec Soccer Federation is expected to old a press conference later today to explain its decision.
