Tuesday’s Premier League matches will feature a brief pause for Muslim players who have been fasting during Ramadan. If clubs have requested a stoppage before the game, the referee will signal for a break, allowing Muslim players to take on energy supplements. This was the case in Everton’s game against Tottenham, which was stopped in the 26th minute to accommodate the Toffees trio of Abdoulaye Doucoure, Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye.
The Islamic calendar follows the lunar calendar, meaning Ramadan starts about 10 days earlier each year. With the holy month now approaching the winter, breaks in play for fasting players will be a regular occurrence in the coming years. Teams and match officials will discuss beforehand whether a pause is required and an approximate time for the stoppage will be agreed. With the 19:45 BST kick-offs on Tuesday coming close to sunset, an agreement might be reached to delay the start by a couple of minutes to allow players to break their fast.
Meanwhile, France’s football federation (FFF) has told referees they must not pause matches to allow Muslim players to break their fast during Ramadan. Nantes defender Jaouen Hadjam was absent for his side’s 3-0 Ligue 1 defeat by Reims on Sunday because he did not want to break the Ramadan fast. Nantes have six Muslim players observing Ramadan but 20-year-old Algeria international Hadjam is the only one to fast on matchdays.
Toffees midfielder Doucoure recently told BBC Sport that he always “loves” Ramadan, adding: “I fast every day. I don’t miss any days.” He went on to say that sometimes playing football has been hard because Ramadan has been in the summer and during pre-season, but he has always been lucky to practise Ramadan and there have never been problems with his physical condition.
Tuesday’s evening matches between Leeds and Liverpool on 17 April and Arsenal against Southampton four days later are the only other top-flight matches that kick off at 20:00 BST this Ramadan. With the holy month now approaching the winter, breaks in play for fasting players will be a regular occurrence in the coming years. Teams and match officials will discuss beforehand whether a pause is required and an approximate time for the stoppage will be agreed.
Tuesday’s Premier League matches will feature a brief pause for Muslim players who have been fasting during Ramadan. If clubs have requested a stoppage before the game, the referee will signal for a break, allowing Muslim players to take on energy supplements. This was the case in Everton’s game against Tottenham, which was stopped in the 26th minute to accommodate the Toffees trio of Abdoulaye Doucoure, Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye.
The Islamic calendar follows the lunar calendar, meaning Ramadan starts about 10 days earlier each year. With the holy month now approaching the winter, breaks in play for fasting players will be a regular occurrence in the coming years. Teams and match officials will discuss beforehand whether a pause is required and an approximate time for the stoppage will be agreed. With the 19:45 BST kick-offs on Tuesday coming close to sunset, an agreement might be reached to delay the start by a couple of minutes to allow players to break their fast.
France’s football federation (FFF) has instructed referees not to pause matches to allow Muslim players to break their fast during Ramadan. Nantes defender Jaouen Hadjam was absent for his side’s 3-0 Ligue 1 defeat by Reims on Sunday because he did not want to break the Ramadan fast. Nantes have six Muslim players observing Ramadan but 20-year-old Algeria international Hadjam is the only one to fast on matchdays.
Toffees midfielder Doucoure recently told BBC Sport that he always “loves” Ramadan, adding: “I fast every day. I don’t miss any days.” He went on to say that sometimes playing football has been hard because Ramadan has been in the summer and during pre-season, but he has always been lucky to practise Ramadan and there have never been problems with his physical condition.
Tuesday’s evening matches between Leeds and Liverpool on 17 April and Arsenal against Southampton four days later are the only other top-flight matches that kick off at 20:00 BST this Ramadan. The Islamic calendar follows the lunar calendar, which means Ramadan starts about 10 days earlier each year. As such, breaks in play for fasting players will become more common in the coming years. Teams and match officials will discuss beforehand whether a pause is required and an approximate time for the stoppage will be agreed. This could involve delaying kick-off by a couple of minutes to allow players to break their fast.
Nantes player Jaouen Hadjam was absent from his side’s 3-0 Ligue 1 defeat by Reims on Sunday because he did not want to break his Ramadan fast. Nantes have six Muslim players observing Ramadan but Hadjam is the only one who fasts on matchdays. Toffees midfielder Doucoure also spoke of his love for Ramadan, saying he has never had any problems with his physical condition despite it being in summer or pre-season.
Tuesday’s Premier League matches will feature a brief pause for Muslim players who have been fasting during Ramadan. If clubs have requested a stoppage before the game, the referee will signal for a break, allowing Muslim players to take on energy supplements at pitchside. Teams and match officials will discuss beforehand whether a pause is required and an approximate time for the stoppage will be agreed, with kick-off possibly being delayed by a couple of minutes if sunset is close to kick-off time.