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JERUSALEM - European basketball's governing body will not make allowances for an Israel player's religious observance in the upcoming European women's championship, a spokesman said on Friday.
The move drew a sharp rebuke from a Jewish anti-discrimination group, which said it was "insensitive and borders on prejudice."
Israel point guard Naama Shafir is an Orthodox Jew who wears a T-shirt under her jersey in keeping with Jewish modesty rules.
European basketball regulations say all players must wear the same uniform and that Shafir will not be allowed to wear her T-shirt. That means she cannot play, as Shafir says she will not compromise her religious beliefs and will not play with her shoulders bared.
Despite appeals by Israel's team for an exception in Shafir's case, Munich-based FIBA Europe told The Associated Press early Friday that none would be made.
The decision on Shafir is "final," FIBA Europe spokesman Sakis Kontos said.
"The global rules of the game clearly state that a team must be uniformly dressed, and the rules must always be upheld," he said.
The New York-based Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish organization that fights discrimination, criticized the decision. Shafir's T-shirt does not interfere with the game, said the group's director, Abraham Foxman.
"The unwillingness to accommodate a religious value is certainly insensitive and borders on prejudice," Foxman said.
Unless it is overturned, the decision will bar the 21-year-old Shafir from competing when the championship begins in Poland on June 18.
Shafir has pointed out that officials from the U.S. college sports governing body, NCAA, under which she has competed for University of Toledo since 2008, have always let her play with a T-shirt.
Toledo has also made sure Shafir does not have to drive or practise on the Jewish Sabbath.
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FILE - In this file Feb. 21, 2009 file photo University of Toledo and Israeli national …
JERUSALEM - European basketball's governing body will not make allowances for an Israel player's religious observance in the upcoming European women's championship, a spokesman said on Friday.
The move drew a sharp rebuke from a Jewish anti-discrimination group, which said it was "insensitive and borders on prejudice."
Israel point guard Naama Shafir is an Orthodox Jew who wears a T-shirt under her jersey in keeping with Jewish modesty rules.
European basketball regulations say all players must wear the same uniform and that Shafir will not be allowed to wear her T-shirt. That means she cannot play, as Shafir says she will not compromise her religious beliefs and will not play with her shoulders bared.
Despite appeals by Israel's team for an exception in Shafir's case, Munich-based FIBA Europe told The Associated Press early Friday that none would be made.
The decision on Shafir is "final," FIBA Europe spokesman Sakis Kontos said.
"The global rules of the game clearly state that a team must be uniformly dressed, and the rules must always be upheld," he said.
The New York-based Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish organization that fights discrimination, criticized the decision. Shafir's T-shirt does not interfere with the game, said the group's director, Abraham Foxman.
"The unwillingness to accommodate a religious value is certainly insensitive and borders on prejudice," Foxman said.
Unless it is overturned, the decision will bar the 21-year-old Shafir from competing when the championship begins in Poland on June 18.
Shafir has pointed out that officials from the U.S. college sports governing body, NCAA, under which she has competed for University of Toledo since 2008, have always let her play with a T-shirt.
Toledo has also made sure Shafir does not have to drive or practise on the Jewish Sabbath.
