An 11-year-old girl from Ottawa who was kicked out of a soccer tournament for refusing to remove her hijab will have her case discussed by the world's top soccer association.

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, FIFA, will discuss the hijab issue on Saturday at its assembly in Manchester, England, spokesperson Nicolas Maingot told The Canadian Press.

Maingot said FIFA would not speak about the issue until after the meeting.

The incident that sparked the controversy happened last Sunday during an under-12 tournament in Laval, Que. when a Muslim soccer referee ordered Asmahan Mansour to take off her head scarf.

When she refused, Mansour was ejected from the game for running afoul of the Quebec Soccer Association rule. Officials said they were just following FIFA guidelines.

FIFA rules do stipulate that a player cannot wear anything that can be dangerous to another player. As a result, athletes are only allowed to wear their uniform, shin guards and shoes during play.

But international FIFA rules do not specify anything about wearing hijabs, or any other religious headgear.

"It definitely isn't a safety issue. It's just a piece of cloth that's on her head, and the way she was wearing it, it was tucked in her shirt ...," said Maria Mansour, Asmahan's mother.

Her coach, Louis Maneiro forfeited the game and pulled the team from the tournament in protest.

Parents of players on the team, the Nepean Hotspur Selects, have argued that Mansour played in other games during the tournament without complaint from other officials.