A hijab only poses a “long-shot” risk of injury to a soccer player, experts said Tuesday, as the debate continued over a 14-year-old Calgary girl’s head scarf.

Both Stephen Brown, a kinesiology expert at British Columbia’s Simon Fraser University, and Maureen Simmonds, director of McGill University’s school of physical and occupational therapy, said it wasn’t impossible a hijab could injure a player.

But the chances of it leading to any significant injury were remote, they said.

“I don’t know what sort of imagination you have to have to see this as a safety risk,” said Simmonds, also a former soccer coach.

The Alberta Soccer Association said this week that Safaa Menhem’s hijab was too much of a safety risk for her to play, saying it could choke her if another played pulled on it.

On Saturday, a referee told her she couldn’t play with her team because of her Muslim head scarf.

Premier Ed Stelmach stood by the association and said it was the right call — but encouraged the association to make a clear ruling.

“This is a situation, unfortunate as it may be, but a referee had to make a decision based on the rules that he or she had at that particular time,” he said.

Liberal Leader Kevin Taft said Stelmach failed to show leadership by defending Safaa.

“You just can’t allow the rules of a soccer association to overrule human rights,” he said.

Two years ago, a Calgary Sikh teenager was ejected from a tournament in Langley, B.C., for refusing to take off his patka, a type of head scarf that sits on top of the head. In that case, the B.C. Soccer Association ruled the referee was in error and players are free to wear religious headgear such as turbans. (Sources: Canada.com)

It is unfortunate that Premier Ed Stelmach has decided to take sides with the association and giving that statement that referee had to make the decision based onthe rules at that particular time.  It would have been very kind of him if he could also give the details of the “Rule” which referee used to disallow Hijaab wearing soccer player. If two years early a soccess association of the same country can rule that it was error to stop a player religous head gear, then the only difference on those two situation is that this time the player in question is a Muslims girl. 

 By the way, pulling the soccer jersey from behind can also has the choking effect, does that mean that referee should also stop players who are wearing the jerseys as safety risk?