PARIS, July 7: Female French footballers are still precluded from wearing headscarves even though world football’s rule-makers lifted the ban on the hijab this week.

The French Football Federation (FFF) said in a statement on Friday that it had to “respect the constitutional and legal principles of secularism which prevail in our country and which feature in our statutes.

“In these circumstances [the FFF] does not authorise female players to wear headscarves.”

French law prohibits face-covering headgear including masks, helmets, balaclavas, niqabs and other veils covering the face in public places except under specified circumstances. —Reuters