Sikhs Barred From London 2012 Football Match

COVENTRY, UK—As per a correspondence from the Sikh Council, UK, there have been multiple cases where baptized Sikhs have been denied entry into the Coventry Stadium.  The Sikh Council has taken up this matter up with LOCOG (Olympics Games Organisers) unfortunately, they have responded by confirming that the venues that accept entry of Kirpan wearing Sikhs does not include any of the Football venues. All other Olympic venues are covered by their policy.

The Sikh Council is in process of compiling all the cases where entry has been denied to Sikhs on basis of their kirpan.   Football venues will apparently exercise their own discretion, so it likely other stadiums may also bar Sikhs.

The Kirpan is worn by followers of the Sikh religion and is an ingrained part of their faith.  In many ways its religious value is similar to the Cross in Christianity. Just as a Cross is worn be devout Christians, baptized Sikhs are required to wear the Kirpan.

Following is an extract of the response from LOCOG which has been widely circulated:

We have looked into the queries you put to us … and can confirm that we are in fact bound by the existing regulations at the football venues that mean Kirpans are not permitted into the venues hosting the Olympic football competition.

The policy previously communicated to you stands for all of our other London 2012 venues. For certainty, this means Kirpans will be allowed into non-football venues where the length of the sheath (not including the hilt) is no longer than 6 inches and is present with the other Articles of Faith. The Kirpan must also be worn beneath the clothing for it to be allowed into the venue.

We have explained the football venue policy through direct communications with spectators who have tickets for Olympic football and have published guidance to this effect for spectators on our website.

We are very sorry that we did not make the football venue policy clear in our communication with you.

We are very grateful to the Sikh Council for bring the matter to our attention and for the opportunity to make the policy clear to the community.