Iqra Ismail: Feeling othered and isolated for not wearing shorts while playing

Footballer and coach Iqra Ismail expressed feeling marginalized and ostracized after being banned from playing for wearing tracksuit bottoms.

"It's not something that I've ever been through before and it's not something I'd wish anybody to go through again. It didn't feel real," she told News.

On Tuesday, the Football Association apologised to Ismail directly after she was told by a referee in a Greater London Women's Football League match that she would not be allowed on the pitch if she was not wearing shorts.

"I'm the type of person that when I get frustrated, when I get angry, it genuinely brings me to tears because I felt so isolated and othered," she said.

Ismail, 24, who was named on the 2019 Football Black List and is also a coach, was set to come on for United Dragons as a half-time substitute in a Greater London Women's Football League match against Tower Hamlets FC.

After the game, the referee said he had been told at the beginning of the season that referees were not allowed to let anyone play if they were not wearing shorts.

Ismail posted a video on social media on Monday, saying: "The Greater London Women's Football League have stopped me from playing because of my religious beliefs, because I refused to wear shorts with my playing kit.

"I have been playing in this league for almost five years now, wearing tracksuit bottoms, and every year they have made it more and more difficult for women like me to play.

"This year they have drawn the line and banned me from playing until I compromise my beliefs."

Earlier in the year, Iqra complained to the FA about the issue and the FA then proactively wrote to all the County FAs and match officials to confirm that women and girls should be allowed to wear clothing that ensures their faith or religious beliefs aren't compromised.

Ismail said the support that she had received from the FA throughout the year has been positive.

On Wednesday, Greater London Women's Football League released a statement saying: "The Greater London Women's Football League is fully committed to ensuring that football is an inclusive and welcoming environment for everybody. We are keen to engage positively with Iqra as we do with all our members.

"We have also been liaising with the relevant County FAs and The FA, to better understand the detail of the guidance regarding what women and girls can wear when playing football, that ensures their faith or religious beliefs are not compromised.

"It was our understanding that players were permitted to wear tights or tracksuit bottoms to cover their legs but that they would also have to wear shorts on top, to adhere to club colours regulations. It was this requirement that our referee was seeking to adhere to this weekend.

"However, we have since been made aware that shorts on top of tracksuits or tights are not required and that the match official should accommodate this to ensure the players feel as comfortable as possible. We will be providing this updated guidance to all our match officials and members and want to ensure everyone, including Iqra that we fully support the principle that players should wear clothing that ensures their faith and/or religious beliefs are not compromised."

The Greater London Women's Football League has still not made contact with Ismail about the incident.

Ismail says there has been no explanation as to why the Greater London Women's Football League went against previous directions from the FA on allowing players to wear tracksuit bottoms.

An FA spokesperson told News: "We are aware of this matter and we are in contact with Middlesex FA to ensure that it is quickly resolved.

"We proactively wrote to all County FAs and match officials across the women's grassroots game earlier this year to confirm that women and girls should be allowed to wear clothing that ensures their faith or religious beliefs are not compromised.

"We remain deeply committed to ensuring that English football is an inclusive and welcoming environment for everybody."

A spokesperson from Middlesex FA told News: "We are aware of this matter and we are in contact with The FA and the League concerned to ensure that it is quickly resolved.

"Guidance from the FA was issued to all County FAs and match officials across the women's grassroots game earlier this year to confirm that women and girls should be allowed to wear clothing that ensures their faith or religious beliefs are not compromised.

"We are working with all our stakeholders to ensure they can apply this guidance effectively and remain deeply committed to ensuring that English football is an inclusive and welcoming environment for everybody."

Diversity in English women's football

There have been numerous conversations around the lack of ethnic diversity in the elite levels of English women's football in recent years, and this feels like a crucial moment of learning in the space.

This incident highlights that still, Muslim women in this country are not able to freely play the sport they love without being asked to choose between their love of their sport, and their faith or religious beliefs.

Ismail told News that many other Muslim women have told her explicitly they are not playing in the Greater London Women's Football League because they have been told they have to wear shorts.

"A lot of them, of course, are not comfortable with that. These are women that are perfectly capable of playing at that level. It's been really frustrating," she said.

Ismail said this situation overshadows the hard work that has been put in place to make women's football spaces more diverse and inclusive.

"They ask me why women's football lacks diversity, why it is difficult to find women who look like me in the competitive game. Things like this are the reason," she said.

"I think you play your best football when you're comfortable.

"When we look at how it affects performance or anything like that - goalkeepers, for example, are allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms in the rules of the game. It's not a health and safety hazard or anything like that.

"I hope that this is the moment that we have a turning point and can start heading in the right direction to make the game more inclusive."

Ismail also hopes that the incident can be a catalyst for a rule change, and says she would like to work with the FA and IFAB to make football more inclusive for future generations.