Sharia law & soccerISIS instructs soccer referees in Syria to enforce Sharia laws, not FIFA rules

ISIS has outlawed soccer referees in its Syrian strongholds because they implement the rule set by FIFA (the world governing soccer federation) “in violation of the commands of Allah.”

The UK-based Syrian Observatory or Human Rights (SOHR) said local ISIS commanders had drawn up a list of Sharia-inspired soccer rules detailing, for example, how players who were injured during a game can be compensated by their opponents.

The Daily Mail reports that ISIShad declared the implementation of international soccer rules “illegitimate” in Deir ez-Zor governorate.

Local sources told SOHR that the Islamist militants told soccer games organizers that referees would be banned because their decisions “do not judge according to what Allah has revealed” and are “a violation of Allah’s command and the Sunnah.”

A system of “Qisas” for injured footballers has been brought in, referring to the retributive justice system enacted under Sharia law, in which victims can claim compensation or exact revenge.

The ban was the result of rulings by courts established by ISIS to rule on issues of Islamic jurisprudence in accordance with a more fundamentalist ideology.

The ruling was issued before the start of the soccer season in the group’s territory around Deir ez-Zor city.

“We’re lucky because the football we play does not run using FIFA’s name – then the organization [ISIS] would have stopped games once and for all and not just refereeing,” a player told SOHR.

The Mail notes that ruling about soccer is in line with several other prohibitions imposed by ISIS. Smoking, satellite dishes, dancing, watching foreign television, and private Internet have all been banned by ISIS in the areas under its control.