AMMAN, July 5, 2023 - The decision of the French supreme court "Court of Cassation" to maintain the ban put forward by the French Football Federation (FFF) on female football players wearing hijab "veil" reflected anger reactions among Arab sports and media circles.
"LES HIJABEUSES" A large number of media professionals on various platforms expressed their rejection of this decision that offends women in hijab, and detracts from their rights at a time when Western countries claim to stand by women in various paths and demand human rights and the need to empower women, as a group of hijabi sports women known as "Les Hijabeuses" meaning the girls in hijab, challenged the legality of Article 1 of the French Football Federation's regulations for playing the game, which since 2016 prohibits "the wearing of any symbol or clothing that clearly shows a political, philosophical, religious or trade union affiliation" and relied in particular on the laws of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) that allowed female players since 2014 to wear Hijab while participating in international competitions.
The French state's supreme court validated FFF's ban on football players wearing hijab, in a case that sparked political and sports controversy inside and outside the country. They have considered in their decision that the female players are employed in order to carry out a "public service" as footballers, and therefore are not subject to the duty of “neutrality”, but the French Football Federation can legislate laws that it deems necessary for “proper conduction” of matches, as the FFF requires the players to not wear hijab in order to respect the constitutional and legal principles of secularism" that prevail in the French state.
"IFAB" IN FAVOUR OF HIJABIS In 2014, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which legislates the laws of the most popular game in the world, officially authorized the wearing of hijab.
The IFAB did not find any reason to prevent the wearing of the hijab during football matches, and therefore put into effect a new law related to this point, provided that the hijab does not hang on the shirt and does not pose any danger to the life of the player who wears it or to the competitive players. The council considered that "there are no indications that impede the wearing of hijab" if the instructions that were put in place to achieve this are respected.
IRAN, REASON FOR CHANGE The IFAB Board devoted itself to studying this file, which had great repercussions in the world of football, as Iran, one of the countries most demanding to wear the hijab, filed a complaint against the International Federation (FIFA) after the women’s national team was forced to withdraw from the qualifiers for the Olympic Games in London. In 2012, they were not allowed to wear a headscarf during matches.
The Council of State did not follow the opinion of its public rapporteur
During the hearing on June 26, the public rapporteur, who speaks the law and whose opinion is generally followed, had recommended giving them a reason by considering that there was neither “proselytism” nor “provocation” in the sole wearing of the hijab as well as no “neutrality requirement”. These recommendations had provoked a lively controversy in the political class, the right calling for legislation on the wearing of religious symbols in sports.
