PARIS: A French MP urged the government yesterday to ban the Islamic headscarf for women soccer players, a day after world footballing authorities said the hijab could be worn on the pitch.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB), custodians of the rules of football, on Thursday overturned its 2007 ban on the Islamic headscarf, a garment it had argued was unsafe and increased the risk of neck injuries.
Critics said the ban promoted inequality at the highest level of the world’s most popular game.
Iran, the Asian Football Confederation and Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, who is also FIFA vice president, were at the forefront of the fight against the ban.
French lawmaker Gerald Darmanin wrote to Sports Minister Valerie Fourneyron asking that Paris denounce the U-turn “in the name of universal and republican values.”
He also called for a “clear signal to ban headscarves in football fields in our country,” adding that sports “must continue to promote equality of the sexes.”
The wearing of the Islamic veil, limited historically to conservative Gulf monarchies, has gained ground, including in sports, since the 1979 Iranian rvolution and the creation of an Islamic republic.
Use of the veil spread quickly as Islamist movements grew in the wake of last year’s Arab Spring uprisings.
France has outraged many Muslims with a law against full face-covering veils which came into force in April 2011.
n FROM: Agence France Presse
French lawmaker seeks head scarf ban for women soccer players
French lawmaker seeks head scarf ban for women soccer players
Norway says Russia, China seek to up presence on Svalbard
- The second-largest town on Svalbard is almost entirely populated by Russian nationals
- China’s presence was becoming more visible in the Arctic
OSLO: While global tensions have focused on Greenland, Norway’s military intelligence service said on Friday that Russia and China were looking to increase their presence on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
In its annual threat assessment, the Norwegian Intelligence Service said that “from Moscow’s perspective, Svalbard’s strategic location makes it necessary to maintain a Russian presence there.”
The second-largest town on Svalbard, the coal mining settlement of Barentsburg, is almost entirely populated by Russian nationals.
“There are signs that the Kremlin is looking to make the Barentsburg settlement less dependent on Norwegian supply and transport infrastructure
“Regular port visits by ships from Russia constitute one planned step in this direction,” the agency said.
It said Beijing was “also expected to work toward enhancing the Chinese presence in Svalbard.”
“The archipelago is strategically placed for future shipping routes and polar research, which are central to cementing China’s role as an Arctic actor,” it said in its report.
It noted that China’s presence was becoming more visible in the Arctic and that five Chinese research vessels had operated in the Arctic Ocean in 2025, compared to three in 2024 and one in previous years.
The service also noted that tensions between the United States and Europe over Greenland and security in the Arctic “could serve both Russian and Chinese interests.”
- ‘Crumbling’ world order -
Andreas Stensones, head of the service, said in the report that Moscow and Beijing stood to benefit as “international cooperation and institutions are being undermined.”
“The same dynamic is evident in the Arctic. Much of the foundation for Norwegian security is being challenged and we must accept that the world order as we have known it is crumbling,” Stensones said.
Speaking at a press conference, Norwegian Defense Minister Tore Sandvik noted: “2026 has so far been characterised by great uncertainty.”
He pointed in particular to US President Donald Trump’s vocally stated desire to take over Greenland.
Trump’s threats against Greenland last month plunged NATO — of which Norway is a member — into its deepest crisis in years.
“There is no denying that relations across the Atlantic are more unpredictable,” Sandvik said.
Stensones told the same press conference that Washington’s actions affected how both Moscow and Beijing were thinking and acting.
“In their view, western unity has already begun to crack, and they see great opportunities to strengthen their influence and secure control in their neighboring areas,” he told reporters.
