Soccer hooligans don niqabs to sidestep ban on masks
Fans exploit religious exemption as Sweden outlaws face coverings in effort to crack down on football violence
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A group of Swedish soccer fans wore Muslim head coverings to a match on Sunday in order to get around a new law banning masks at matches to crack down on violence.
The new legislation, spearheaded by Interior Minister Anders Ygeman, requires everyone to show their faces during soccer matches and went into effect on March 1. However, exceptions to the law are made for officials such a police or fire fighters in the line of duty, and for those covering their faces for religious reasons.
A group of hard-core fans from AIK took advantage of the loophole and attended the first game of the season, against Häcken, wearing niqab, a black full-face covering worn by some Muslim women.
The fans, known as ultras, made their message clear by holding up a banner which read, “AIK’s ultras mean well, we’re now wearing masks for religious reasons,” Swedish news site The Local reported.
When Swedish law forbids masks/hiding faces in public places, but permits it for religious reasons… AIK fans adapt to conceal identities. pic.twitter.com/LcfRkFJXXV
— Joel Rookwood (@Joelrookwood) April 4, 2017
The fans also made sure to credit the interior minister for the new way to cover their faces, as the banner also said, “Freedom for ultras is the goal, thanks Ygeman for the loophole.”
The minister, who supports a rival club, took the move in good humor, telling the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that, “In all honesty, I thought the banner was quite funny. It shows that AIK fans have a bit of humor,” The Local reported.
The mask ban was a response to increasing violence in Swedish soccer, including an August 2016 match which was abandoned after a masked fan ran onto the pitch and assaulted a player.
The Times of Israel Community.