The Football Association has apologised to Muslim women’s footballer Iqra Ismail after she was prevented from playing in a match because she refused to wear shorts.

The incident occurred during a Greater London Women’s Football League match when Ismail was set to be a half-time substitute for United Dragons against Tower Hamlets. 

The referee barred her from entering the field because she wore tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts.

“Yesterday, I was told that I could not play football because of my religious beliefs,” Ismail said on social media. “Yes, you heard that correctly. In 2024!”

“The Greater London Women’s Football League have stopped me from playing because of my religious beliefs, because I refused to wear shorts with my playing kit.

“I have been playing in this league for almost five years now, wearing tracksuit bottoms, and every year they have made it more and more difficult for women like me to play.

“This year they have drawn the line and banned me from playing until I compromise my beliefs.”

Ismail said the Middlesex FA referee said the league had strictly instructed against allowing players to wear tracksuit bottoms.

She added: “Of course, I stood by my principles and that meant yesterday, I was not allowed to kick a ball.”

“At this level, the priority should be making women’s football accessible and the Greater London Women’s Football League have done the exact opposite.”

“They ask me why women’s football lacks diversity and why it is difficult to find women who look like me in the competitive game. Things like this are the reason.”

Iqra said she felt “isolated” by the incident and “close to tears” but her responsibility is to advocate for other Muslim women in the sport to prevent similar situations in the future.

FA insists Muslim women can wear faith-appropriate clothes

The FA confirmed that Ismail can continue playing while wearing tracksuit bottoms. 

A spokesperson for the FA told Sky Sports News: “We are aware of this matter and we are in contact with Middlesex FA to ensure that it is quickly resolved.

“We proactively wrote to all county FAs and match officials across the women’s grassroots game earlier this year to confirm that women and girls should be allowed to wear clothing that ensures their faith or religious beliefs are not compromised.

“We remain deeply committed to ensuring that English football is an inclusive and welcoming environment for everybody.”

Greater London Women’s Football League also released a statement: “The Greater London Women’s Football League is fully committed to ensuring that football is an inclusive and welcoming environment for everybody. We are keen to engage positively with Iqra as we do with all our members.

“We have also been liaising with the relevant County FAs and The FA, to better understand the detail of the guidance regarding what women and girls can wear when playing football, that ensures their faith or religious beliefs are not compromised.

“It was our understanding that players were permitted to wear tights or tracksuit bottoms to cover their legs but that they would also have to wear shorts on top, to adhere to club colours regulations. It was this requirement that our referee was seeking to adhere to this weekend.

“However, we have since been made aware that shorts on top of tracksuits or tights are not required and that the match official should accommodate this to ensure the players feel as comfortable as possible. We will be providing this updated guidance to all our match officials and members and want to ensure everyone, including Iqra that we fully support the principle that players should wear clothing that ensures their faith and/or religious beliefs are not compromised.”

Image credit: Twitter @coachiqra