Female soccer players sit on sidelines amid protest by Islamic high school team

Carla Briscoe was “in shock” when the all-male players of a rival high school soccer team raised concerns about playing against members of the opposite sex.

The rival team, from a private Islamic high school, raised the issue during a half-time break and offered to forfeit the game rather than continue playing against a team with girls on it.

“I was really upset, in shock,” said Briscoe, a Grade 12 student at Caledon’s Robert F. Hall Catholic School, who chose to sit on the sidelines for the rest of Tuesday’s game against Mississauga’s ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) Islamic High School.

“We were only two goals ahead. I didn’t want to ruin the game for the rest of the guys. We just couldn’t let them forfeit the game because we needed the extra goals to advance,” the 18-year-old said.

The game between ISNA Islamic High School and Robert F. Hall in the Region of Peel Secondary School Athletic Association’s regional tournament has renewed the ongoing debate about balancing religious accommodation and gender equality.

On Friday, ISNA issued a statement apologizing for the “confusion and misunderstandings” arising from the incident, saying it had not been aware of ROPSSAA’s rules allowing female players on boys’ teams.

“The opposing team chose to substitute the female players as opposed to accepting the forfeit. In hindsight, ISNA regrets that the female players felt they could not participate,” the statement said.

“It was never the team’s intention to exclude female participation . . . The team sincerely regrets if any team members or participants were hurt or felt discriminated” against, the statement added.

Briscoe, who is one of only two female players on the Robert F. Hall team, has been left with some feelings of bitterness.

“I respect their culture and religion, and I don’t want to say anything bad about their religion just like I don’t want others to say anything bad about the Catholics. But I have my right to play as much as their right to religious freedom,” she said.

ISNA joined ROPSSAA, the organizer of the tournament, less than three years ago.

According to ROPSSAA, the association’s constitution stipulates that female athletes can play on boys’ sports teams if a school does not have a girls’ team. Overall, the number of girls on boys’ teams is very small.

On Tuesday, Briscoe played starter as the right defender for Robert F. Hall in the first half of the match ISNA in the first half of the match at Brampton’s Creditview Fields.

However, during the break, ISNA coach Essa Abdool-Karim approached the referee and said his team would forfeit the game if Briscoe and teammate, Alissa Condontta, returned to play due to religious beliefs prohibiting physical contact with unrelated members of the opposite sex.

ISNA was behind 3-1 at the time, and both teams — after their respective ties in first-round matches — needed as many goals as possible to advance into the semi-finals if the pool placements came down to goal differentials.

Although the controversy has been settled for now, with ISNA failing to advance for another match against Robert F. Hall in next week’s championships, observers say such conflicts are bound to play out more and more in Canada’s increasingly diverse playing field.

ROPSSAA chair Paul Freier said it is the first time a situation like this occurred in the 10 years he’s been involved in the sports association, which includes 68 public, Catholic and independent schools and involves 35 sports.

Freier, a principal of Mississauga’s T.L. Kennedy Secondary School, said his association’s gender policy is consistent with the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations, and he had no idea why ISNA did not raise the concern before the game started.

“Our members may agree or disagree with our rules and regulations, but it is the job of our executives to uphold these rules and regulations,” said Freier, adding that member schools have the right to make a motion to change the association’s rules.

Robert F. Hall ultimately defeated ISNA 6-1, but both teams made it to Thursday’s semi-finals. The former beat Mentor College and will play Ascension of Our Lord Secondary School, which conquered ISNA.