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[Madness]

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/c...soccer-game-after-complaints-from-muslim-team

The senior boys’ soccer team from Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School in Caledon, Ont., was up 3-1 at the half on Tuesday when the coach pulled aside Carla Briscoe, one of two girls on the team.

Briscoe, who was in the starting lineup, wondered if she was being called out for playing too rough, but it turned out the coach from the opposing school, ISNA High, an independent Islamic school in Mississauga, Ont., had told the referee his team could not continue playing because of the presence of girls on the field.

As much as the competitive 18-year-old senior wanted to continue playing, she agreed to sit out the rest of the game. The team needed the extra points and it would be unfair to stop the game when some of her teammates hadn’t taken to the field. “I said to my coach, ‘I’d rather see everybody play. I don’t want to ruin this for the rest of the team. Me and the other girl will sit out.’'

The rules governing sports in the region mirror those set by the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations, which states if a sport is not available to girls at a school, they can join the boys’ team after a successful tryout.

Essa Abdool-Karim, the ISNA coach, told CityNews, the team was “caught off-guard” by the presence of girls on the team. “We assumed this was a senior boys’ league and we thought it was exclusively for boys,” he said. “Understand that free mixing is something that, generally speaking, we do not do, more so out of respect than anything. It’s got nothing to do with discrimination.”

Paul Freier, chairman of the Region of Peel Secondary School Athletic Association (ROPSSAA) sent an email Friday to the ISNA coach making it clear schools must abide by those rules. If they don’t like them, they are free to leave the athletic association.

This is an interesting case in Canada of religious rights vs. equality/gender rights. These two girls were allowed to play on the boys team because there was no girls senior team and they successfully tried out and were good enough to make the boys team. However, the coach of the opposing team is from an all-muslim independent school, and the boys are not allowed to have physical contact or be on the field with girls. They didn't know two of the players on the boys' team were girls. At halftime, the coach said either the girls needed to be removed from the game or they wouldn't play. Thoughts?

EDIT: The other team requested that either the girls sit out or they'd have no choice but to forfeit. The girls accepted that they'd rather sit out and let their boy teammates finish the game (needing points/stats) rather than take the forfeit win. Question is, whether they should've even had to do that.

 

[PorygonVandal]

The other team didn't break any rules AFAIK, if they don't want to play, then don't play

 

[Perfect Blue]

Should have told them to fuck off and then disqualified them. Bunch of bullshit right here.

"It’s got nothing to do with discrimination."

haha

 

[Archer]

The right answer would be to tell the Islamic team to fuck the hell off, or walk-out of the match in protest of these asswipes.

This coach sent a very bad msg to the two girls on his team. Coach needs to be fired.

Team.

 

[Lamel]

Muslim team should have withdrawn then, as the co-ed team was perfectly legal and allowed.

 

[Sai-kun]

I guess don't play then.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

I need to be 100% sure of this, but was the team with the girls breaking any rule?


if they weren't, then fuck the stupid coach.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Is the girl catholic?

 

[Al-ibn Kermit]

No the right thing to do is for the Muslim boys to forfeit if anyone is going to. In California, I had friends on the wrestling team who would sometimes get matched up with girls and they'd either wrestle (most of the time) or they would forfeit which my brother did.

Expecting those girls to leave is wrong and hopefully the coach/Islamic school get punished.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

The team from the all-boys school should have been the ones to forfeit. Those girls are more mature than the grown men involved (and some comments here I'm sure...)

 

[dr3upmushroom]

Don't want to get whooped by a girl huh.

 

[Kusagari]

Muslim team should have withdrawn.

They were the ones breaking the rules by refusing to play.

 

[RomanticHeroX]

I respect you so much that I insist you not play.

 

[Fj0823]

Muslim team should have withdrawn.

They were the ones breaking the rules by refusing to play.

Agreed, the coach´s entitlement is disgusting.

 

[Qasiel]

Muslim team should have withdrawn then, as the co-ed team was perfectly legal and allowed.

Pretty much this.

Fair play to the girls supporting their team but it's pretty bad that they had to be put in that situation.

 

[Chococat]

Muslim team should have withdrawn.

They were the ones breaking the rules by refusing to play.

Agree. It is religious belief, they should sit out. Not the girls.

 

[John Kowalski]

I need to be 100% sure of this, but was the team with the girls breaking any rule?

if they weren't, then fuck the stupid coach.

The article in the OP says that they are perfectly fine where they are because their school doesn't have a specifically female soccer team.

Lol @ "out of respect".

 

[Alucrid]

so it took half the game for the muslim coach to overcome the shock of a co-ed team and say that or what?

 

[Subpar Spatula]

People should protest the school.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

The article in the OP says that they are perfectly fine where they are because their school doesn't have a specifically female soccer team.

Lol @ "out of respect".

yeah, the out of respect quote got me like.... what in the fuck?

 

[LaserBuddha]

"We respect you too much to continue playing the match unless you leave."

 

[ItIsOkBro]

Took half the game to realize they had girls on the other team eh? Sounds like religious beliefs are being used as a scapegoat.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

People should protest the school.

Should they take guns and crayons?

 

[Reset]

They didn't notice that there were girls on the field until half the game was over and they were losing 3-1...
Seems like that team was getting its ass kicked and they used the girls as an excuse lol

 

[Paganmoon]

I don't get one thing, why wasn't this brought up from the get go by the other team? Only after being 3-1 down do they see it as an issue?

 

[JDSN]

Pretty mature on the girl to be a team player and sit out, but the coach should have just given her that choice and protect the integrity of his students.

 

[GK86]

Fuck that, they should have kept playing.

 

[Opiate]

It's got nothing to do with discrimination.

I'm not racist but

 

[The Faceless Master]

the correct answer is for both teams to continue playing according to their beliefs. so the team that doesn't believe in physical contact between the sexe should just let the girls on the other team have free reign when they have the ball and then continue to play as normal when the girls pass the ball to a male teammate.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

I don't get one thing, why wasn't this brought up from the get go by the other team? Only after being 3-1 down do they see it as an issue?

That too.

Surprised the referees let this happen, but maybe they were afraid of being perceived as discriminatory themselves. Would have been unfounded but still...

 

[Subpar Spatula]

Should they take guns and crayons?

Co-ed street soccer with trash can goals.

 

[statham]

Because of your religious views, people on another team can't play, but thats not discrimination.

 

[hodayathink]

The needing the points thing seemed odd to me, and then I read the full article and found this:

A statement issued by the school Friday said it regretted the female players felt they could not participate.

“It was never the team’s intention to exclude female participation, which was reflected in the offer to forfeit. The team sincerely regrets if any team members or participants were hurt or felt discriminated based on their gender.”

It sounds like the all-Muslim team actually did offer to forfeit the game, but the other team needed the goals (probably for some tiebreaker in the standings) and they decided to play out the rest of the game without the girls instead of winning by forfeit (and the girls agreed to it).

 

[Silexx]

so it took half the game for the muslim coach to overcome the shock of a co-ed team and say that or what?

They were losing 3-1. I think we know what was really going on here.

 

[Madness]

I'm not sure, but the way the girl worded the reason she sat out "we needed the extra points" leads me to believe if they allowed the muslim boys team to forfeit, they would've been in a worse off position (points/stats wise), then if the girls sat out and let their fellow teammates finish the game. Either way, just a shitty situation all around. I also agree the girls earned their spot. They had to try out for the boys team which is a heavy disadvantage, and were good enough to make it. The girl even thought the coach was pulling her out because she was playing too rough.

 

[Delta Assault]

Because of your religious views, people on another team can't play, but thats not discrimination.

Technically, the article says

the coach from the opposing school, ISNA High [...] had told the referee his team could not continue playing because of the presence of girls on the field.

 

[Savitar]

I say screw them.

They don't want to play they don't have to play.

They weren't winning anyways.

 

[nicanica]

The muslim team should have not played. The respect for your religion does not supercede your love of soccer.

 

[Madness]

They were losing 3-1. I think we know what was really going on here.

Wade Briscoe, Carla’s father, said he wonders if religion or gender was really the motivation for ISNA wanting to pull out. He found it a bit odd the coach didn’t raise his concern about the girls until the midpoint of the game, when his team was losing.

“Why did he wait to half time?”

The girls' father also made that similar sentiment known.

 

[JJDinomite]

What year is it?

 

[DragonSworne]

the boys are not allowed to have physical contact or be on the field with girls.

Why? What nonsense is this?

 

[jtb]

Fuck him. If they can't continue playing, then take the (I assume) automatic 3-0 loss for forfeit.

 

[Annubis]

Why? What nonsense is this?

The religious kind.
Then again... where did they even get that 'rule'...

 

[Reset]

Fuck that, they should have kept playing.

How would they have?
The muslim team was forfeiting, but the girls decided to sit out themselves so the other members could continue playing.

 

[DragonSworne]

The religious kind.

I'd be interested in seeing the passage of the Quran on this subject.

 

[Stet]

They should've just taken the win and handed the other team a double dose of L.

 

[Paganmoon]

The girls' father also made that similar sentiment known.

Actually could very well still be religion and gender, but not as the coach put it, He just wouldn't want the boys to lose to a team with girls.

Still, something that's being missed is that the coach offered to forfeit, which should be considered as well.

They should've just taken the win and handed the other team a double dose of L.

They did win 6-1 in the end. Not sure if that helped them in the standings though.

 

[cameron]

The coach is a scummy weasel. The ref and everyone else should've called him on his bullshit.

 

[Tesseract]

i have girl soccer friends

 

[Madness]

Actually could very well still be religion and gender, but not as the coach put it, He just wouldn't want the boys to lose to a team with girls.

Still, something that's being missed is that the coach offered to forfeit, which should be considered as well.

"the coach from the opposing school, ISNA High, an independent Islamic school in Mississauga, Ont., had told the referee his team could not continue playing because of the presence of girls on the field."

Not being missed at all. I even bolded it in the OP. The coach for the other team said, either the girls leave, or we'll no longer play ie. forfeit. The girl didn't want to see a forfeit and needed the points and didn't want the boy teammates not be able to play so they sat out.