Excerpt:
This is getting very tiresome.
After the long agonizing debate on wearing hijabs in soccer, one would have thought the Quebec Soccer Federation had learned its lessons and moved on. But no, the QSF is at it again, with its decision Sunday to maintain a ban on Sikh turbans, citing player safety and the fact that FIFA, the game's governing body, doesn't allow them. The reason for the ban is preposterous to say the least, and once again, it casts Quebec as the odd one out in Canada. The Quebec federation seems to enjoy the notoriety, but the rest of the country doesn't see the funny side.
The soccer season is now in full flow across Canada, with thousands of kids of every hue flocking to pitches and fields everywhere from Alberta to Ontario, to play the game they love. Except Quebec. About 200,000 kids play minor-league soccer in Quebec, but some of them will not play this year. Muslim girls wearing the hijab will play this year, but not boys sporting the turban. It is not right and it has to stop. Let all the children play.