Local sources in Bamiyan report that Taliban officials, under the pretext of promoting virtue and preventing vice, closed a stadium in this province after insulting and belittling athletes.
Local sources told Hasht-e Subh that officials of the Taliban’s virtue and vice department in Bamiyan on Sunday, 30 April, blocked the stadium after deeming the futsal players’ uniforms as inappropriate.
Two eyewitnesses reported that yesterday the Bamiyan team played against a team from Kabul at a sports hall located in the Dasht-e Eisa Khan area in Bamyan city, during the game, the officials entered the hall.
One of the witnesses, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the officials insulted and humiliated the athletes with “aggressiveness and profanity” about why they did not wear “Afghan and Sharia-compliant” clothing.
According to the Taliban’s view, the uniforms worn by athletes during football, futsal, and other games are considered illegal and forbidden.
Another witness said that after closing the stadium, the officials took the manager with them.
So far, local Taliban officials in Bamiyan have not commented on the matter.
The Taliban have previously insulted and belittled athletes in other provinces for not adhering to what they consider Afghan and Islamic customs.