Photos: Saudi Goalkeeper's Mohawk Cut Off By Referee During Game Because It's "Anti Islamic"

The Saudi Arabian national team's goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah, who also plays for for Al Shabaab, was deemed to have an 'anti-Islamic' haircut, so was taken off the pitch for a trim. Two match officials used scisscors to remove his 'un-Islamic' mohawk. Abdullah can be seen protesting at the start but soon caves, while his bemused team-mates look on.

The action follows an announcement by Saudi Arabia's youth federation asking football clubs and the Olympic committee to "ban the qazaa phenomenon", the Arabic term for eccentric hairstyles. One commentator urged the football federation to "impose sanctions" on players whose "bizarre haircuts are imitated by their fans in school."