Islamic State bans football referees for ‘violating Allah’s commands’

The self-styled Islamic State (IS) has outlawed football referees for enforcing Fifa rules “in violation of Allah’s commands”.

The militant group ruled that football referees “do not judge according to what Allah has revealed” and that these were a “violation of Allah’s command and the Sunnah”. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), IS commanders have also formulated a list of rules regarding compensation to be awarded to those injured by opposing players in accordance with the Sharia.

The IS has also declared implementation of global football rules illegitimate in their stronghold of Deir-ez Zor during forthcoming league matches. While this could not be verified, the move keeps up with the group’s earlier actions of banning smoking, dancing, watching television and privately accessing the internet.

The IS takes punitive action against those who flout its decisions and edicts. This includes flogging, shooting, beheading and burning suspects.

The group has been striving to retain control over Deir ez-Zor where forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have launched an offensive. The IS has been grappling with several significant defeats across Iraq and Syria over the past months. Its propaganda chief Abu Muhammad al-Adnani was killed this week.

This article originally appeared on The Independent