15 August 2019

Cricket club alleges discrimination over Muslim festival

A cricket club claims it has been discriminated against for not playing a match during a religious festival.

Gloucester AIW said it has been docked 22 points, and its opponents awarded a further 20 points as a concession, for refusing to play last Saturday.

The club, which is made up mainly of Muslim cricketers, said the date clashed with the Day of Arafat - the day before Eid al-Adha.

Gloucestershire County Cricket League said it had acted "within its rules".

The club said the league has a specific clause in its constitution - introduced this season - requiring matches to be rearranged where there is a risk of games coinciding with Eid.

Club secretary Ahmed Goga said he informed the league in January about the clash, but "they ignored it".

"The day of Arafat is one of the most important days in Islam which comes a day before Eid al-Adha. [BBC] Read more