LONDON (AP) — FIFA vice president Prince Ali will urge soccer’s rulemakers on Saturday to overturn a ban on Islamic female players wearing hijabs.
The Jordanian prince will make a presentation to the International Football Association Board, five years after the panel ruled that wearing headscarves in matches was unsafe.
Prince Ali says “the present situation is saying to women worldwide that you’re not allowed to participate for a reason that makes no sense. That’s prejudice. It’s not fair.”
He insists that permitting hijabs is “not an issue of religious symbolism — it is simply a case of cultural modesty.”
If the motion is rejected, the prince says “there will be lot of soul searching about what the priorities are in this sport.”
