Fifa has officially authorised the wearing of head covers for religious reasons during football matches. The ruling was made following a meeting of the International Football Association Board (external) (IFAB) in Zurich and will apply to male and female players, reports said on March 1. The wearing of head covers had been banned, but a two-year trial started in 2012 has proved successful.
In 2011, Iran’s women’s team withdrew from an Olympic qualification match against Jordan in protest at not being allowed to wear headscarves. There have also been calls from the Sikh community in Canada for the ban on the wearing of turbans to be lifted.
World football’s governing body, Fifa, had claimed the wearing of head covers while playing competitive football posed too great a risk of injury to the head or neck. However, following a request from the Asian Football Confederation, the IFAB allowed for their safety to be tested during the trial.