MONTREAL — First it was Pastagate. Now it’s the Quebec Soccer Federation’s controversial decision to ban turbans from soccer fields that is making the province the subject of ridicule across Canada.

“It gives the impression that discrimination and intolerance are common occurrences in Quebec,” Montreal city councillor Marvin Rotrand said Wednesday.

Rotrand and other city councillors will try to present an emergency motion at this month’s city council meeting demanding that the soccer federation reverse its ban on turbans, patkas and keskis.

Quebec is the only province in Canada that does not allow Sikh boys to play with religious headgear, and Rotrand said the stance demonstrates that the provincial federation is out of touch.

“This decision makes no sense, it has gone viral and editorialists are denouncing it,” Rotrand said. “I live in Montreal, a city that is tolerant and where we celebrate diversity, like Toronto and Vancouver.”

Earlier this year, Quebec made headlines around the world after inspectors with the Office Québécois de la langue française ordered an Italian restaurant to remove Italian words from its menus.

If the Quebec Soccer Federation refuses to change its position, the city council motion will call on the Canadian Soccer Association to expel the provincial federation from its ranks.

The Canadian Soccer Association has not commented on the turban ban since the Quebec federation’s board of directors voted on Saturday to maintain the ban, which it began enforcing last year.

The Gazette has contacted the CSA several times for comment, but telephone calls and emails have not be returned.

While some federal politicians, including Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, have condemned the ban, many Quebec politicians have remained silent.

A spokesperson for Marie Malavoy, who is responsible for amateur sport in the province, said the minister has no intention of interfering with the soccer federation’s decision.

“We have confidence that the QSF is making the best decision to assure the security of the players,” Mathieu Le Blanc, Malavoy’s spokesperson said in an email sent to The Gazette.

A receptionist for the Quebec Soccer Federation said on Wednesday that no one was available to speak to the media.

kwilton@montrealgazette.com