France’s highest administrative court has denied a group of young Muslim female footballers the right to wear a headscarf during games.

The Council of State ruled that the ban by the French Football Federation (FFF) was suitable and proportionate.

The group, called the Les Hijabeuses, had launched the legal battle against the discriminatory law. Their lawyer, Marion Ogier, says the court’s ruling goes against social cohesion in a country founded on diversity and pluralism.

French politicians and others believe that the head covering poses a threat to state secularism, despite many other sports federations allow female players to wear the Muslim head covering.

This latest ruling yet again exposes the double standards in France’s treatment of Muslims. Only last year the same court allowed the women to swim topless but banned the burkini swimwear.