Soccer Official Bans Islamic Head Covering For Iran's Olympic Women's Team

Yesterday, Iran's women's soccer team was disqualified from competing in an Olympics qualifying match because of the head coverings which the women were wearing.  The Washington Post and AFP report on developments. In Iran, women athletes are required, in order to comply with Shiite Islamic requirements, to cover their head and body. In April 2010,the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced that it would ban headscarves during the 2012 London Olympics.  Iran's Football Federation designed special headscarves that wrapped tightly around the head and neck, and claims that it obtained FIFA approval for them. However, yesterday a referee disqualified the team just before they were to take the field against Jordan in a qualifying round in Amman. FIFA says Iran was informed that covering the neck was banned for safety reasons. Marzieh Akbarabadi, the official in charge of women's sports in Iran, charges that the disqualification, imposed by the FIFA referee who was a Bahraini national, was politically motivated.  Iran has been a critic of the crackdown by Bahrain's Sunni rulers on Shiite protesters in Bahrain. Iran plans to file a formal complaint over the disqualification with FIFA.  If FIFA insists on its position, apparently Iran will refuse to participate in international competitions.