L’Equipe Sparks Outrage with Article Targeting Nouhaila Benzina's Wearing Hijab

Honoring a long-standing tradition of attacking all forms of religious expression, French sports-focused newspaper l’Equipe wrote an article claiming that Morocco’s defender Nouhail Benzina's decision to wear hijab at the FIFA Women’s World Cup is “highly controversial.”

Rabat – Honoring a long-standing tradition of attacking all forms of religious expression, French sports-focused newspaper l’Equipe wrote an article claiming that Morocco’s defender Nouhail Benzina’s decision to wear hijab at the FIFA Women’s World Cup is “highly controversial.”

Benzina made history for being the first player to ever participate in a FIFA World Cup while wearing the hijab during Morocco’s game with Germany last Monday.

The news, which was celebrated around the world as a testament to the significant strides football has made in encouraging values of inclusion, compelled the French newspaper to remind the world that it is not legal to wear the hijab in France in official football matches.

Commenting on the news, the newspaper wrote, “FIFA’s position is not the same as that of France,” adding that “The FAR Rabat player had this opportunity because of a change in FIFA legislation made almost a decade ago, on March 1, 2014.”

The article sent a wave of shock through social media users who saw the article, with one Twitter user indignantly writing, “A Moroccan player in an international competition, no one asked about your opinion, mind your own business.”

“It’s a matter of debate only in fascist countries. For sane-minded people, we are simply happy that she can do what she loves,” another Twitter user wrote.

France’s decision to restrict religious freedom in the name of preserving secularism is triggering anger even among French citizens, as a number of human rights associations have demanded that the European country respect individuals’ rights to display religious symbols as an integral part of preserving individual freedom.