But what if not wearing the headress is the equivalent of playing in bra and panties or topless in another culture?
I would not venture to tell the player simply to "just take it off" - when your eternal soul is at steak, one tends to not to regard their religious garb so willy nilly.
I may have missed it, but I don't remember a quote from the referee saying that he banned the headdress because it wasn't part of the uniform rather than a safety issue. Scott
It isn't PC. It's USSF. Let's repeat, again, our rather clear instructions: The ATR, 4.3, a little hidden under "Jewelry" says: ...referees should carefully consider any item of clothing or jewelry that is clearly religious or medical in nature and permit it to be worn if it is not dangerous and not likely to provide the player with an unfair advantage. Then, the 1999 memo, entitled pretty clearly, "Player Dress," which states: ...the Secretary General of the United States Soccer Federation has given permission to those bound by religious law to wear such head coverings, usually a turban or a yarmulke, provided that the referee finds that the headgear does not pose a danger to the player wearing it, or to the other players. This principle could be extended to other clothing required of members by their religion. The ATR is clear that you allow it UNLESS it is dangerous or providing an unfair advantage. That is the judgement you are instructed by USSF to make, not whether you like it, or if it is "part of the uniform." If you sincerely believe it is dangerous (and aren't using that just as a fake reason to forbid an item you don't like) then you can forbid the player to wear it. Otherwise, suck it up and follow the instructions.
OMG....I can't belive this thread has gotten so long Direction on this issue from the USSF is CLEAR...very clear as demonstrated by the various links and excerpts posted within this thread. This is not a new issue and has been discusse at the state leve and at the highest levels of the USSF. The referee is a knucklehead for no letting her participate and wear her head covering and even more so for talking wit the press. Had an almost idential incident here in NJ a few years back only t involved a young male player who was a Sikh and wearing a turban. Referee would not let him play and then granted numerous interviews with the press which further spread misinformation and myths. Lastly, it alomost always sems that referees who spend a lot of time on mundane things seem not to be able to handle important game issues like player managment, foul recognition, knowing proper restarts....but they will argue ad nauseum over the "finer points" of a throw-in