Iran said Monday that the decision by FIFA, the international football body, to ban the Iranian women's football team from playing a 2012 Olympics qualifier in Jordan because of the players' Islamic outfits was an "insult to all Muslims", dpa reported.
"The FIFA decision was an insult to all Muslims whose only aim was to show their (religious) belief in sports arenas," Farideh Shojaei, the deputy of Iran's football federation, told Mehr news agency.
FIFA cancelled Friday's game in Amman and declared Jordan 3-0 winners after the Iranian authorities refused to have their players remove their headscarves and track suits.Iran has filed an official complaint against and aims to expose the issue as a political plot.
"FIFA which considers itself as a democratic international organization should explain about this discrimination," Shojaei said.
Women in Iran are obliged to respect the hijab - Islamic dress code - and wear a long gown and scarf to conceal body contours and hair in public.
FIFA on Monday rejected the Iranian protest and said that Iran had been informed in advance that the Hijab would not be allowed for security reasons and that the decision by the Bahraini FIFA observer to cancel the game was in line with its laws and regulations.
No comments:
Post a Comment