That's another double-edged sword. I find Final Fantasy a very bad example. Final Fantasy comes from the Asian region, and there the gameplay is generally somewhat different from that of us West-Eastern Europeans and North Americans. One must not forget that the community was so dissatisfied with the game that the developers rebuilt it from scratch. I think it's justified that not every race can play a class. For example, lore-wise I would never give an Orc a wand. Orcs are strong fighters but not wand wielders :D The racial abilities don't matter much, that's really only a few percent that make up maybe 10% of the players from all over the world. The racial abilities can be neglected as a normal player, and you can play the race you like best. To get the most out of it, you play the class with the best racials. These are crucial in the high tier endgame, but only if you want to grind hard for a progression or become the first on the server.
Final Fantasy is one of the top MMOs worldwide right now, I don't think its origins factor into the argument. Nor do I think the A Realm Reborn rework is an argument against open race/class combinations, as race/class combinations were not a factor in why the original attempt was disliked, nor was it a factor in the rework, a rework that is celebrated as one of the best examples of a developer listening to and appropriately reacting to feedback from its fans in gaming history.
As far as you saying lore-wise you would never give an Orc a wand; I would. Why should your stereotypes of a race limit my gameplay experience? If race and class combinations were unrestricted, you could still choose NOT to make an Orc mage or necromancer or paladin if you don't like the concept. But restricting race/class combinations means that developers are artificially limiting player choice and player opinion. The lore-based argument becomes especially frustrating when the race/class restrictions aren't consistent. If I were to use WoW as an example, many fans continue to argue against Orcs being able to play paladins because they don't share the human worship of the Light and are "too evil." This is despite the fact that there are other races in WoW currently that can play paladins who also don't share the human worship of the Light. And if that were the case, why are humans, who worship the Light and are seen by these same fans as the "good" alternative to the Orcs, able to play warlocks? If the stereotypically holy and pious humans have members who eschew their cultural norms to wield demonic magics, why is it impossible to see members of the Orc race eschew their cultural norms and become paladins?
The same inequity exists in Scars of Honor's currently proposed race/class restrictions. Humans, described on their race's page as "noble beings with a will for life like no other. Even in the eyes of death humans draw their strength from their unmatched faith in the sacred gods" can be necromancers or pirates. If we're looking at race/class restrictions following strict racial stereotypes; humans shouldn't be allowed to play either class, as it clashes with their lore of being pious and their own page stating: "From birth to death they follow sacred laws written by the first men."