contoh diversity ^0^

Afifa Saad refused to play without her hijab. A referee had said he would not start a Women's Premier League game while she wore it.

A Women's Premier League soccer game was called off on Sunday after a player was told she could not take the field unless she removed her Muslim headscarf.

A referee refused to start the game between South Melbourne Women's Soccer Club and Keilor Park WSC until South Melbourne player Afifa Saad took off her hijab.

"He said 'You can't play with it on. Is there something wrong with your head?' I said 'No, I'm Muslim'," Ms Saad told Channel Nine yesterday.

The sports fanatic, in her fourth season with South Melbourne, always plays in a white Muslim scarf and long track pants under her team shorts. It was the first time she had been asked to remove her hijab.

When she refused, teammates and the opposition team supported her.

"She was crying when it happened. Her teammates rallied around her, which was great to see... they stood behind her and said we will not play now," South Melbourne coach Alex Alexopoulos said.

The referee later said Ms Saad, 21, could take the field if she changed the colour of her scarf to match her uniform. Then, after consulting the Victorian Soccer Federation, he agreed Ms Saad could play, but by then the game had been delayed for more than 15 minutes, which meant it had to be postponed.

"She is very distraught, very upset," Mr Alexopoulos said.

Embarrassed Victorian Soccer Federation officials moved quickly to rule out any suggestion that the referee - an experienced official of more than 12 years' standing - had discriminated against the player, but agreed that she deserved an apology.

The organisation said it had begun an inquiry into the controversy and expected to produce a report within a week.

"I emailed the referee concerned and requested a full report by close of business today," the federation's referee development manager, Chris Bambridge, said yesterday.

"At this stage I can't tell you why the referee made the decision. I don't necessarily believe that it would be an act of discrimination. I think she's probably owed an apology for any distress and trauma caused.

"There's nothing in the rules of the VSF or the rules of the game which addresses headgear such as the hijab."

Mr Bambridge said the sport's global controlling body, FIFA, regarded such headwear as acceptable as long as it was not deemed to be dangerous to other players by containing pins or other implements.

He said South Melbourne would not forfeit the points and the match would be replayed. The referee could be subject to disciplinary action once the federation had determined what had taken place, he said.

The federation's sports services manager, Leslie Burrows, said Ms Saad had been a "fantastic role model to all women" and the organisation had pledged to make sure "we get a very clear result" in its inquiry.

The VSF said in a statement: "Soccer is proud of our cultural diversity and that persons of any culture, gender and religion have the opportunity to play this great game. It is a strength that sets us apart from all other sports. "We are thrilled with women's soccer and would never condone anything that prevents active participation in the sport."