Muslim footballers challenge French hijab ban

A ban on players wearing hijabs during football matches is being challenged by Muslim women in the latest clash between Islam and France’s secular establishment.

A group of players who call themselves Les Hijabeuses have asked the State Council, France’s highest administrative court, to quash a ruling by the French football federation that headscarves cannot be worn during games.

The case comes during a French presidential election campaign in which Islamism is a key issue, with hard-right candidates such as the pundit Éric Zemmour and Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally, calling it a threat to French unity.

Founé Diawara, 22, joint chairwoman of Les Hijabeuses, called the ban a “great injustice”, adding: “We feel that we are being excluded.” She said that as she refused to take off her hijab, she was not allowed to play in matches, even in amateur leagues.

“We pay for club membership, we give 100 per cent in training and at the end of the day, on match days, we are told we cannot play.”

The French Football Federation refuses hijabs on the ground that all “speeches or signs of a political, ideological, religious or unionist character” are prohibited on its pitches.

Officials argue that the ban is in keeping with the secular values of the French state, which has had no official religion since 1905 when it separated from the Catholic church.

Many politicians argue that religious neutrality has been challenged by Islamism in recent decades. The authorities have responded by banning religious signs such as hijabs in schools in 2004, and outlawing burqas, which cover the body and face, in public spaces in 2011.

Les Hijabeuses argue in their lawsuit that the football federation has exceeded its powers by banning headscarves during matches, calling the decision a “serious and manifestly illegal attack on several fundamental freedoms”. They point out that Fifa, the international football federation, lifted its ban on head coverings in 2014.

The political right is concerned that the State Council will side with Les Hijabeuses. Senators voted this month in favour of legislation that would outlaw hijabs in all sports.

Although the proposal has little chance of becoming law in the near future because it is opposed by Emmanuel Macron, whose supporters control the lower house of parliament, Les Hijabeuses fear that it could get on the statute book if one of his right-wing rivals wins the spring presidential election. They gathered for a “protest kickabout” outside the Senate this week.

Jacqueline Eustache-Brinio, a centre-right Republican senator, said: “France in 2022 is facing the reality of Islamist influence. And we should have the courage to preserve national unity and cohesion. Sport and schools are two areas where we must resist.”