THE English Premier League has approved that tonight’s matches will be briefly paused for Muslim players who have been fasting during Ramadan.
During the month of Ramadan in the Islamic calendar, Muslims are obliged to avoid food and drink from dawn to sunset as one of the pillars of the religion.
If clubs have requested a stoppage before the game, the referee will signal for a break, allowing Muslim players to eat and drink at pitchside.
Three matches will start tonight at 7.45pm in England, which is around the time the sun will be setting: Bournemouth vs Brighton, Leeds United vs Nottingham Forest and Leicester City vs Aston Villa.
The match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge will kick off at 8pm and might not be affected.
Everton’s game against Tottenham last night was stopped in the 26th minute to allow players that had been fasting during the day to take on energy supplements.
Three Muslim players were in action for Sean Dyche’s side at Goodison Park: Abdoulaye Doucoure (who was later sent off), Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye.
Although sunset was before kick-off, allowing players to break their fast, a drinks break was pre-agreed with the referee when both teams came to the side of the pitch to take on fluids.
The Premier League added that play will not stop while matches are in mid-flow, but at the earliest convenient moment during a goal-kick, free-kick or throw-in.
Teams and match officials will discuss beforehand whether a pause is required and an approximate time for the stoppage will be agreed.
With the 7.45pm kick-offs tonight 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, which was the case in Friday’s Championship game between Burnley and Sunderland, the BBC reported.
Meanwhile, in France, Super Eagles winger Moses Simon’s teammate at 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 the 20-year-old Algeria international is the only one to fast on matchdays.
France’s football federation has told referees they must not pause matches to allow Muslim players to break their fast during Ramadan.
“Football does not take into account the political, religious, ideological, or syndical [trade unions] considerations of its actors,” read an email to officials.
“It is up to all of the parties involved to make sure it is respected.”
