Top Women’s Soccer Players File Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Against FIFA

[big_dog]

Source: Think Progress.org

A group of top women’s soccer players from across the world on Wednesday sued the Canadian Soccer Association and FIFA, the sport’s international governing body, alleging gender discrimination around the 2015 Women’s World Cup, which Canada will host in June. NBC Sports first reported the lawsuit, which top players, including American stars Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan, had threatened for months over FIFA and the CSA’s decision to hold the Women’s World Cup on artificial turf fields, a decision the players say makes the game more dangerous for them and would never happen for the men’s World Cup.

The lawsuit filed in Ontario by more than 40 international women’s players claims that the decision to hold the World Cup on turf is “inherently discriminatory” and violates Canadian human rights laws for three major reasons: that it changes the way the game is played, poses “unique and serious risks of injury,” and requires them to play on a “second-class surface.”

“This differential treatment based on sex constitutes a violation of section 1 of the Ontario Human Rights Code,” the lawsuit states. FIFA officials said this week that they would play the Women’s World Cup on turf and that “there is no plan B.” The suit cites pictures from players to show that playing on turf causes more injuries, including “skin lesions, abrasions, and lacerations,” and scientific research showing that turf is harder on players’ bodies, particularly knee and ankle joints.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2014/10/01/3574803/womens-soccer-players-file-gender-discrimination-lawsuit-against-fifa-canadian-soccer-association/

[TygrBright]

1. Good! I hope they win.

Football played at the level these women play involves considerable injury risk already. There is NO reason why that risk should be increased for them, when it is not increased for men playing a World Cup game.

irritatedly,
Bright

[Ron Obvious]

2. Good luck to them!

All players and fans alike detest artificial pitches. I'd like to see them banned throughout FIFA, with exemptions only for clubs in the Arctic Circle and the like.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. For those used to British soccer terms, 'turf' in this article seems to always mean artificial turf

In Britain, 'turf' means grass - you might say "the turf isn't holding up well" when it's real grass.

[IronLionZion]

4. Artificial turf seriously sucks

were they thinking? The person who made that decision has obviously never played on it and was thinking of cost cutting or some other nonsense.

[Gumboot]

5. This is going to end in huge embarrassment for FIFA and CSA.

They will have to back down sooner or later, just depends how stubborn and pig-headed they choose to be in the meantime.

I don't want to see the world's best players torn up by a synthetic surface.

Give 'em hell, Abby!

[VWolf]

6. They don't stand a chance against "The Wombat" n/t