Muslim footballer stopped from playing in tracksuit bottoms

Ms Ismail, who has played football since she was eight, said she has always worn a long-sleeve top, the team’s shirt, a sports hijab and tracksuit bottoms as well as shin pads and other necessary equipment.

“I know a lot of women [of the same faith and beliefs] who don’t play actively in these leagues, even though they are very capable of doing so, because they don’t feel comfortable wearing shorts. That’s the reason they do not play.”

She said it was the tracksuit bottoms that were the problem, not the long sleeve top.

The Greater London Women’s Football League appeared to be in contravention of the guidance given by the Football Association (FA) instructing to be lenient regarding the issue, but official FA rules state that tracksuit bottoms are only to be worn by the goalkeeper.

However, since the incident, the league has issued a statement to say it has been working with the FA to “better understand” the detail of the guidance regarding what women and girls can wear when playing football which “ensures their faith or religious beliefs are not compromised”.

It said: “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.

It says though that it has since been made aware that this is not the case, and that match officials should accommodate trousers “to ensure the players feel as comfortable as possible”.

The league added: “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.”