NRI teen barred from playing soccer for wearing turban

Racism in football has a long history. Be it in the English Premier League or in a small region in Canada, racism has always sunk it’s teeth in to tarnish the image of the beautiful game. Aneel Samra, a 17 year old recreational soccer player in LaSalle, a community in the Greater Montreal Region, Canada faced the latest wrath of racism. He was recently barred from playing soccer while wearing his “patka” (turban).

A Manchester United fan, Aneel spoke to Sportskeeda correspondent Harmit Kamboe about his latest experience.

Harmit – Tell us something about yourself, your childhood and formative years? What attracted you to soccer?

Aneel – I had a great childhood. My parents always did what they could to make sure that I had the best of everything. One of the things that I’m thankful for, is the fact that my parents enrolled me into sports at a young age. I started playing basketball at the age of 5. At the age of 6, I received a Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United jersey from my uncle in Toronto as part of a birthday gift. That inspired me to watch and support Manchester United and as a result I spent most of my weekends watching their games. Whenever I had the opportunity to get to a field, I would try my best to re-create their moves in hopes of becoming as good as the players of Manchester United. This sparked my interest in joining the LaSalle Soccer House League. Growing up, sports was a part of my life whether it be playing for school, for LaSalle House league or even just for fun.

Harmit - How long have you been playing soccer? Did you always play for the LaSalle Soccer Association?

Aneel- I’ve been playing soccer since I was about 6-7 years old and by the age of 7 my parents enrolled me into LaSalles house league. Apart from LaSalles, I’ve also played for my school teams. Sports has always been a very important in my life and I try to play at every opportunity that I get.

Harmit - What happened when you went to sign your forms this summer?

Aneel- I registered in March, but on May 16th 2012 I went to go sign a contract agreeing to abide by their rules & regulations which we are asked follow every year. I walked in and was greeted by “you might as well get a refund”. When I asked why, they told me that Lac St Louis was making them reinforce their “rule number 4″ which dictates that no head gear can be worn during the game. I was in disbelief and I asked why won’t I be allowed to play with my turban?

They told me “it can be dangerous to you, and it offers an unfair advantage on headers”. Now how is wearing my turban dangerous, I’ve worn it all my life and it has never caused any harm to me or any of my peers. And I guess they thought my bun of hair gives me an added inch on headers. Really?!

If anything, the headers come off more awkwardly. But I guess Lac St Louis knows a lot about my turban & they’ve conducted a lot of tests, right? Wrong, as a matter of fact they declined every interview with the media. I wonder why?

Lac St. Louis has told Lasalle that I will be only allowed to play if I use pro tape on my hair. My religion teaches me to cover my head and they want me to take off my turban and put on a hair net? That’s very degrading, even the people at LaSalle Association have told me that I would be degrading my religion if I did that. So if the LaSalle Soccer Association thinks wearing pro tape is degrading then why didn’t they go against Lac St Louis decision to reinforce the rule? They are a non-profit organization and they have absolutely nothing to lose! Even the coaches are all volunteers!

Harmit - Just to be clear, you were playing with a ‘patka’ all these years and not a full turban?

Aneel - Yes, when I say “turban”, I’m referring to my ‘patka’. I have always played in a ‘patka’ because i feel it is a lot more secure than a full turban.

Harmit - Is it true that the LaSalle Soccer Association has offered you the opportunity to use a FIFA approved hair net ? Have you considered wearing that or even perhaps having your hair in a pony tail for the duration of the game?

Aneel- Yes they told me that I can play in a hair net which is called ‘Pro Tape’. But I will not take my hair out. Its degrading and a bit embarrassing to do so. Doesn’t the Canadian Charter of Rights state that we are allowed to practice religion freely? Doesn’t the UN charter of human rights also say that? Then why haven’t FIFA made exceptions to that rule?

(Just to be clear this is the material that is the Pro Tape – How is one supposed to make a “patka” out of this sticky tape is unclear -http://www.soccerpro.com/Mueller-Pre-Wrap-p299/)

Harmit - People will say that when you move to a different country or society, you should leave the old ways behind and integrate with the main-stream. What do you have to say to that?

Aneel - To them, I say that it is incredibly narrow minded thinking. I can’t believe that I’m in 2012 and I’m fighting for a rule like this. To those people I say, isn’t Canada known for its diversity and multiculturalism? If Canada is known for that, wouldn’t they welcome different cultures and religions? Or should I assimilate and convert religions? That’s ludicrous. I mean sure I’ve assimilated because I am also Canadian, but I will not leave my religion at the border. This is Canada, where we welcome diversity, and embrace it with open arms.

Harmit - Did you know that the ‘patka’ might be an issue? Is that one of the reasons why you never tried for an academy or inter-city team?

Aneel- Yes, I knew it was an issue. And you’re right, that was why I never tried out for an inter-city team. Looking back on it, this rule should have never been in place. This rule kept me in a lower skilled league and it prevents me to challenge myself in a higher division/league.

Harmit - What position do you play?

Aneel- I play midfield. I prefer central midfield or on the wings, I just like to control the game, and effect both aspects, offence and defence.

Harmit - There are rumours that the ban on Hijabs for Muslim girls might be done away soon. Does that offer you hope that somewhere down the road, the rule on ‘patkas’ might change too?

Aneel- It’s amazing to hear that. I’m extremely happy for those Muslim girls who can now play soccer without going against their faith. I heard about that story, and that was one of the reasons why I decided to get this rule overturned. It gave me hope, tremendous hope that under ‘Freedom of Religion’ one day this ban might be upheld. I’m trying to get this rule over turned, not just for myself but all other Sikh boys. I just want them to pursue their dreams. If they want to challenge themselves and go try out for an EPL team then so be it. Hopefully they’ll be able to do that while still respecting their religion, because it shouldn’t be a decision between faith and soccer. Soccer is about unity, then why not have diversified players? Doesn’t that show unity?

Harmit - What happens now? Is organized soccer over for you? Do you still love the game after all the fiasco?

Aneel- Well hopefully the rule will get overturned. All I want is to play soccer. But if it doesn’t change then I guess I won’t be able to play organized soccer, but it won’t just be me. It’ll be every Sikh boy in the region who will have the beautiful game taken away from them because they choose to wear a turban while playing. And of course I’ll always love the game, and I’ll always support Manchester United. I am forever a Red.

Update: There have been a few developments in Aneel’s case, and Sportskeeda caught up with him once again to hear his thoughts. These are the excerpts of Aneel’s more recent chat with us.

Harmit - After your case was reported in the media, has the La Salle Soccer association reached out to you and the other kids?

Aneel - Yes they have called us, and told us to get our uniforms. But once we were there, they’d talk to each of us individually and say “we do not want to turn down any kids, so you guys will be on the teams, but if a referee says you cannot play a game, you will not be able to play.” They basically say it is Quebec’s fault, and the referee’s are regional referees so they are out of their judristriction.

Harmit - How much time had passed from the time you were paid to the time when you heard back from them earlier this week?

Aneel - Well initially when they told me to get my refund back in May, I did. We were trying to contact them and did not receive a response. They did respond to World Sikh organizations’ email requests, but even those stopped 2 weeks ago once they informed Lac St Louis about a FIFA coach’s words that my head covering was not in violation of their rule. It was on this Monday, June 4th, that I heard people were getting phone calls to gather their uniforms. It was then that I decided to go to the La Salle association and try to re-register.

Harmit - What happened when you went to the game on the evening of June 5, 2012? Did you notice anything odd?

Aneel - Last night (June 5th) I got a phone call at 8:45 pm saying my passport (soccer ID) was ready and I could play in the 9 pm game. I immediately felt weird because I noticed some of the LaSalle Soccer Association Board people were at the game and there was also a regional referee. When I went to play, I got subbed within the first 5 minutes and that’s when I was told by the referee that I would not be allowed to play until I removed my “thing from my head”. I was so embarrassed that I left with my father.

Harmit - Do you feel that the La Salle Soccer association just “staged” this game and has taken you and the other boys for a ride?

Aneel - I feel that they used this as an opportunity to claim that they are trying to help but they knew that without the rule being overturned we wouldn’t be allowed to play. This was the best way for them to go about it because they wouldn’t have to issue a refund and this would also be a good opportunity for them to tell people that they tried to do something.

Harmit - Any word from them on a refund for the rest of the season, at the very least?

Aneel - There has been no word of a refund, but I’m sure LaSalle will gladly give one. It’s just that I’m not sure how Quebec Soccer Association will feel losing close to $30,000 in registration costs.

Harmit - So where do you go next?

Aneel - We need to get into contact with the Quebec Soccer Association and force them to overturn their ruling. Also, in order for this problem to never come up again, we would have to get FIFA to recognize this situation before July so they could add this to their agenda for their July meetings. In those meetings they are going to alter Rule 4 to accommodate Hijabs; I hope they also do the same with turbans, so I could get out there and play.