Sikh man 'treated like criminal', denied entry in Wembley stadium over article of faith

A Sikh man was refused entry into Wembley stadium to watch the Italy vs Spain match on Tuesday (6) due to the “size” of his article of faith.

Arjan Singh, 28, and his friend were denied entry to the Wembley stadium despite having £300-worth of each tickets. The duo has come from Rugby to watch the semi-final but were refused to enter due to the size of the former’s article of faith kirpan.

Kirpan is one of the five Ks in the Sikh religion. Considered an article of faith, kirpan, often described as a dagger or a miniature sword, must be worn at all times by baptised Sikhs. 

According to media reports, Arjan was denied entry into the stadium since his kirpan exceeded the size limit, as set out by guidance by Wembley stadium officials online. While the guidelines stated that the article of faith should not exceed six inches, Arjan claimed that he was not allowed entry even when Kirpan was initially measured at six inches.

While he and his friend were told to wait for a long time, Arjan told a media outlet that he was not given seats despite him reporting to officials about his chronic back pain and discomfort.

“They made us wait for ages… [it was] horrible, I was exhausted,” Arjan told My London. “It was almost like we were criminals… [The security guard] kept on repeating ‘you are not coming in with a sharp blade’ and other people were hearing this.”

According to Wembley Stadium’s policy on kirpans, it is allowed to be worn inside Wembley Stadium – however it must not be visible to the public and should be worn underneath clothes in order to ensure the highest possible safety at all times.

Arjan’s brother, Ranbir, raised the issue on his Twitter account on behalf of Arjan on Tuesday (6) after which head of diversity & inclusion programmes at Football Association, Dal Singh Darroch, tweeted that Wembley Stadium is an open and inclusive venue and has “NO issue on Kirpans at all, they have just to be under the specified size”.

After the incident, a member of FA offered Arjan and his friend tickets for Wednesday (7) Wembley  for England vs Denmark match.