The FA (The Football Association) has issued an apology to Muslim footballer after she was barred from playing in a league game for declining to wear shorts due to her religious beliefs, reports Nadine Osman/The Muslim News, UK.
Iqra Ismail, 24, a pioneering figure in women’s football and a coach, was set to substitute in for United Dragons during a Greater London Women’s Football League match against Tower Hamlets FC on October 27. However, she was stopped from playing after refusing to wear shorts with her kit.
In a video posted on social media, Ismail, who captained Somalia in 2019 and established Hilltop FC, expressed her frustration with the league’s decision: “The Greater London Women’s Football League have stopped me from playing because of my religious beliefs, because I refused to wear shorts with my playing kit,” she said.
She added that she had been playing in the league for nearly five years, always wearing tracksuit bottoms, but each year it had become “more and more difficult” for women like her to participate.
“This year they have drawn the line and banned me from playing until I compromise my beliefs,” she continued. Ismail added that the Middlesex FA referee said the league barred women from wearing tracksuit bottoms, regardless of colour or kit.
Following Ismail’s public statement, the FA issued an apology and confirmed that she would be allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms in future games.
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