Morocco Bans Personal and Religious Messages on Players’ Jerseys, Citing FIFA Rules

This is what director Yahya Hadqa said during a press conference held on Tuesday in Rabat.

According to him, this attitude is prohibited by Article 4 of the regulations of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) (the body that develops the rules of the game of football), which stipulates that "the players’ equipment must not display any slogan, inscription or image of a political, religious or personal nature. Players are not allowed to display political, religious or personal slogans, messages or images or advertising on their underwear other than the manufacturer’s logo".

"In case of infringement, the player or the team will be sanctioned by the organizer of the competition, by the national federation or by FIFA," he continued, specifying that the match referee "does not have the right to issue any sanction against the player or the team". He must, however, report this fact in his match report.