The Soccer Affiliation has apologised to Muslim ladies’s footballer Iqra Ismail after she was denied the chance to play in a league sport for refusing to compromise her non secular beliefs and put on shorts.
Trailblazing footballer and coach Ismail was set to return on for United Dragons as a half-time substitute in a Better London Ladies’s Soccer League match in opposition to Tower Hamlets FC.
In a video posted on social media, Ismail mentioned: “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.
“I’ve been taking part in on this league for nearly 5 years now, sporting tracksuit bottoms, and yearly they’ve made it an increasing number of tough for ladies like me to play.
“This year they have drawn the line and banned me from playing until I compromise my beliefs.
“The Middlesex FA referee for yesterday’s [Sunday’s] sport mentioned that the league had advised him strictly to not permit ladies like me to put on tracksuit bottoms, whatever the color or whether or not it was matching our equipment or not.”
The FA has since apologised to Ismail, who has been told that she can wear tracksuit bottoms when she next takes to the field.
Sky Sports News has contacted the Greater London Women’s Football League for comment.
Ismail was appointed to the Soccer Black Checklist in 2019 and was a speaker on the FA ‘Your Recreation Your Approach’ occasion at Brentford Soccer Membership earlier this 12 months.
She added: “At this level, the priority should be making women’s football accessible and the Greater London Women’s Football League have done the exact opposite.
“They ask me why ladies’s soccer lacks range and why it’s tough to seek out ladies who appear like me within the aggressive sport. Issues like this are the rationale.”
A spokesperson for The FA had earlier told Sky Sports News: “We’re conscious of this matter and we’re in touch with Middlesex FA to make sure that it’s rapidly resolved.
“We proactively wrote to all County FAs and match officials across the women’s grassroots game earlier this year to confirm that women and girls should be allowed to wear clothing that ensures their faith or religious beliefs are not compromised.
“We stay deeply dedicated to making sure that English soccer is an inclusive and welcoming setting for everyone.”
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A spokesperson from Middlesex FA advised Sky Sports activities Information: “We are aware of this matter and we are in contact with The FA and the League concerned to ensure that it is quickly resolved.
“Steerage from the FA was issued to all County FAs and match officers throughout the ladies’s grassroots sport earlier this 12 months to verify that girls and women needs to be allowed to put on clothes that ensures their religion or non secular beliefs will not be compromised.
“We are working with all our stakeholders to ensure they can apply this guidance effectively and remain deeply committed to ensuring that English football is an inclusive and welcoming environment for everybody.”
Match officers have been issued with steerage on offences involving non secular head coverings originally of the 12 months after Sky Sports activities and former referee Jarnail Singh raised considerations about an incident involving a Sikh-Punjabi footballer, who had his patka pulled by an opponent in a Spartan South Midlands League match originally of January.
