Key Points
- Muslim footballers in the UK will be given the opportunity to break their fast during matches.
- More than a billion practicing Muslims worldwide will fast during daylight hours for a month and break their fast after sunset.
Muslim footballers competing in two major British leagues will reportedly be given the opportunity to break their fast during the holy period of Ramadan.
Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, is expected to start on Wednesday and is set to end on the evening of Friday 21 April.
Nearly two billion practising Muslims worldwide, including top footballers, will fast during daylight hours for a month in which .
Refereeing bodies have told Premier League and English Football League match officials to allow these players to break their fast during Iftar — after sunset — when there is a natural pause in play, such as a goal kick or a thrown-in, Sky News UK reports.
This would allow both footballers and match officials observing Ramadan to take on liquids, energy gels, or supplements.
Referees have also been encouraged to identify players who are fasting prior to kickoff and agree on an estimated time for the pause in play.
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante and Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez are among players who are expected to abstain from eating and drinking during daylight hours.
In the past, the Premier League has allowed a stoppage if a team makes a request beforehand.
In 2021, a match between Leicester City and Crystal Palace was halted by referee Graham Scott after half an hour so Leicester's Wesley Fofana and Crystal Palace's Cheikhou Kouyate could break their fast after sunset. The short break, which marked the first time a Premier League match was paused for Iftar, had been agreed on before the match.
Fofana, who is now at Chelsea, at the time thanked the Premier League for allowing the pause, saying in a tweet, "That's what makes football wonderful".
And last year, spectators at a Burnley v Southampton encounter were told in a pre-match announcement that there would be a break in play to allow two visiting players to break their fast.
- With Reuters.
