While India loves cricket, football is now becoming a popular sport in the country thanks to its young fans. The logo of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Indian Super League, and many other football clubs are becoming more recognizable. Today, we want to talk about how Muslim football players are changing the English Premier League and, hopefully, the sports world as well.
At the time of the founding of the Premier League, only one Muslim player was known to play in the highest division, Tottenham midfielder Mohamed Naim. Twenty years later, it became clear that the situation had changed. Now, we can safely say that Muslims are gradually changing football.
The strongest World Cup surprises not only with its high level of football but also with a tolerant attitude towards those, who form it. Coaches recognize that it is important to understand the basics of different religions, clubs should not discriminate between players, but they should respect the traditions and beliefs of each.
As Indian Muslims celebrated the beginning of Ramadan, English Premier League began reconsidering the rules to accommodate the life choice of Muslim players. After all, three rounds of the EPL and the first matches of the 1/4 finals of the Champions League fall during this time. For a month, Muslims abstain from drinking and eating until the evening. This year, it will take place starting on March 22. In the EPL, the next round of matches will be played on April 1-3.
The referees who referee the match of the league received a recommendation to pause matches so that Muslim players can eat their first meal of the day. This means that they will have a chance to take fluids or special energy drinks, snacks, or other supplements.
It is reported that refereeing teams will have to know in advance which players will need stops and agree on the time of such accommodations. The first instance of such pauses in the English championship happened in 2021. Leicester and Crystal Pelas agreed with referee Graham Scott to pause the game so that two players could get a source of energy after fasting for the whole day.
It is likely that over five players participating in matches are fasting during this Ramadan. If you are a fan of Muslim football players and would like to support this change, you can share appropriate photos on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Keep in mind that not all photo formats are supported by these platforms. If you have an iPhone, you would need to convert HEIC to JPG or PNG.
The new rule will be in effect during the Muslim holy month. As said earlier, the rules of the league have been adjusted previously as well and allowed the suspension of matches if the captains of both teams agreed on this beforehand. However, the league leadership wants this to become a standard topic for discussion by captains and referees.
Besides pauses, Muslims are given rooms for prayer and time to communicate with God before going to the field. They can also take a shower separately from the team and have food catered to their preferences. Clubs are interested in making players feel as comfortable as possible, especially when these are outstanding players, such as Al Habsi, Demba Ba, and Yaya Toure.
This reconsideration of rules is valued by Muslims across the world, especially in India, which has one of the world’s largest Muslim populations. We hope that it will lead to more such changes not only in the sports world but also in other spheres.