Article first published as FIFA Bans Iran’s Women’s Team on Technorati.
FIFA has been having its own share of problems for while now, primarily centered on allegations of ethics violations within the leadership. Bribery of officials, or at least the intent to do so, was one of the issues that came up to bite former FIFA Presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hamman of Qatar. Of course, Qatar will apparently remain the host of the 2022 World Cup, so perhaps the point of the allegations was simply to remove him from the presidential race against Sepp Blatter.
Sepp Blatter
Other than wanting to extend his 13-year reign as the head of FIFA, one could wonder precisely why would Blatter be so determined to stay in power at this juncture? He’s 75 years old. It’s not like anyone is suggesting an early retirement age for him, obviously.
Now, if one believes that Blatter really is a very bad man, capable of covering up unethical behaviors of certain people, while hanging others out to dry (perhaps what was done to Hamman), considering all of this in the context of the Iranian Women’s team might be much more disturbing than it is on first glance. Iran’s team was forced to forfeit to Jordan, crushing their Olympic aspirations, because Blatter and FIFA stated that their uniforms did not meet the standards of the organization for competition. This team had previously been banned from wearing hijabs, so they designed form-fitting hoods that cover their necks and hair to please FIFA’s requirements. They had practiced before the match without a word from officials about the hoods, but when it came time to compete, they were told they were unacceptable.
According to FIFA, there were concerns about safety, primarily choking hazards. This is soccer, not American football – presumably players are not supposed to be running about on the field grabbing each other, unless they have a specific desire to be ejected from the game. Given Blatter’s previous statements about having women players adopt more sexy attire on the pitch, perhaps it really isn’t about safety concerns at all, but about the fact that the Iranian team wouldn’t be offering fans the opportunity to view some skin. Arguably, Hamman would probably have been much more understanding of the Iranian women’s needs, and may not have ruled that they could not participate in the Olympic trials. So,was Hamman really guilty of ethics violations, or was this simply an easy way for Blatter to ensure his vision of sex-kitten-style-female-footballers at FIFA competitions? Since Hamman was suspended before being found guilty, perhaps the world will never know.
While intrigue within FIFA itself is interesting enough, what is perhaps even more fascinating is the response from Iran to all of this. To clarify the situation, first consider that Iran is considered a conservative Muslim nation, at least in practice on the streets. That is why the Iranian women’s team got into this whole situation in the first place. Their desire to dress conservatively in observation of not only their religious belief system, but also their societal traditions didn’t sit well with FIFA. There is a thin line that the organization is traversing here. While it may be right and good to decry politicizing the game with outward indications of one’s beliefs, it is something else entirely to require that women drop observing their religious faiths when they set foot on the pitch.
Muslim women in conservative cultures have enough trouble as it is getting involved in sports in the first place. The fact that Iran managed to put together a team at all is a statement in itself. Saudi women are still battling to get the ability just to exercise, and in spite of high rates of obesity and diabetes in that nation, are not accomplishing that goal in a meaningful way.
So, understanding that conservative Muslim cultures can and often do frown upon women exercising at all, it is particularly surprising to see Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s response to the Iranian Women’s soccer team being excluded from competition by FIFA. “We will deal with those who carried out this ugly job. We follow definite rights of our girls,” Ahmadinejad said. It’s not a good sign when even the arguably crazy dictator of a generally backward nation when it comes to women’s rights starts crying against an organization for stomping on the rights of his nation’s women.
Whatever the reasoning within FIFA for this decision, hopefully the issue will not just fade away with time. Soccer is a game that brings nations together even just for an hour and a half. It is one of the few peaceful common grounds for otherwise warring factions. As for the Iranian women, simply put – let them play.
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