Basketball in France: as in football, the Islamic veil progresses in spite of the rules, sowing discord and even death threats; “the opposing team remains silent because they are afraid of being harassed or insulted”

An eminently symbolic piece of cloth that some players of the Muslim faith wear or want to wear at matches, and which is more than ever the subject of prevarication and discussion at the top of national and regional bodies. The situation is particularly tense as the federation, in the same press release, also wished to “strongly condemn the threats received in recent weeks against officials, referees and other volunteers […] who are committed to respecting the general principles of the Republic on which the federation bases its regulations”.

Sources even report ” death threats “. The president of the FFBB, Jean-Pierre Siutat, was contacted by us and did not respond to our requests. Neither did he want to comment on the consequences of the latest incident, which has further aggravated an already explosive background.

The incident, first reported by Le Parisien newspaper, occurred on January 8 on the sidelines of a National League 3 (fifth division) match between Escaudain (Nord) and Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis). Shortly before the start of the game, Salimata Sylla (25), a player in the 5-member Aubervilliers team and a basketball personality in the Paris region, was banned on the floor by the referee because of her “Hijab Pro”, a product that has been marketed for several years by Nike – the player, incidentally, works for its subsidiary Jordan Brand – and other major brands.

[…]
Article 9.2 of the new rules on “Outfits and Accessories” states that “hair accessories” are “not allowed” (with the exception of headbands, which must not be wider than 10 cm).

Result: “If a player has equipment or an accessory that is not permitted and wishes to keep it, he must not be allowed to take part in the match”. In September last year, there was another reprimand that preceded the tightening noted this season: a “note” on equipment again listed “head-covering accessories” as “unsuitable for the game” and “therefore prohibited.”

[…]

“You can enforce the rules when an official referee is present, but at a small level of play without official referees, it is more difficult,” the FFBB president explained. The home team asks the visiting team if they agree that the players are veiled and the visiting team does not respond because they are afraid of being mobbed or having stones thrown at them”.

[…]
while this rule is easy to enforce at the highest level, it can disintegrate in the lower leagues, especially because of the different population groups in certain areas.

As in the Île-de-France region, where clubs have difficulty finding their way around because some tolerate reasonable agreements and others reject them. At departmental level, some committee chairmen have been deliberately opting out of the rules for months, passing on verbal instructions not to apply them. Some officials are also raising a secessionist spectre, justified by disregarded inclusion.

[…]
a trial of strength is now in full swing, as in women’s football with the complaint of the collective of hijabeuses before the State Council, whose decision is eagerly awaited.

L’Équipe / https://www.fdesouche.com/2023/02/05/basket-comme-dans-le-foot-le-voile-islamique-avance-malgre-le-reglement-en-semant-la-discorde-voire-les-menaces-de-mort-lequipe-visiteuse-ne-repond-rien-car-elle-a-peur-de-se-faire-mole/