The fifteen players deployed on the synthetic pitch at the Landy stadium. On this mild early evening in mid-October, the Saint-Denis Rugby 93 cadet team (Seine-Saint-Denis) came to train to improve their slow ball game, after their victory the day before in the regional championship. . Some wear jogging pants, others are in tights, many have their heads covered with a sporty hijab or a simple scarf tied at the nape of the neck. Coach Emmanuelly Mbokanga sees no contraindication: “We have worked a lot to promote women's rugby in schools, recreational centers and community centers and we have had a full team for three seasons. We're pretty proud of it. »
The headscarf, which most players wear, has however become an issue for federal authorities. Since mid-July, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) has added an article to its regulations, which prohibits “wear any sign or outfit ostensibly demonstrating religious affiliation”. This provision, still little known to clubs, follows a general movement made by French sports federations. “Personally, I am not bothered by the wearing of the veil in our teams, but we have received injunctions from the ministry and had some reports of conflict situations with referees. The blur was not good »justifies Sylvain Deroeux, secretary general of the FFR.
The law of August 24, 2021 specified that agents and the like of public services, including when they are managed by a private person, must refrain, in the exercise of their functions, from any manifestation of their beliefs and opinions. . This principle of neutrality does not apply to users. Since the teaching of Roxana Maracineanu and Jean-Michel Blanquer, the Ministry of Sports has, however, consistently defended that players must also adhere to it.
“Discriminatory practices”, for Amnesty International
This led the NGO Amnesty International to devote a report to this subject, entitled “The violations of the human rights of Muslim women and girls caused by the ban on the headscarf in French sport”. Published on July 16, on the eve of the Olympic Games, the text denounces “discriminatory practices with devastating effects” and emphasizes that France is “the only country in Europe to ban the wearing of religious head coverings in sport”.
The line has not changed with the government of Michel Barnier. “We will affirm as much as necessary the principle of secularism wherever necessary. Each club is a safe, protective place. Proselytism has no place”declared the new Minister of Sports, Gil Avérous, on September 23. Within his office, it is specified that he belongs to each federation “to assess whether the ban is necessary and to establish the precise framework”. In practice, approaches differ from one sport to another and the debate on pitch neutrality continues to arise.
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