Ramadan came to an end in mid-April, and it was not without controversy in the world of professional football. Should breaks be granted, for example, to allow practising players to hydrate? In a reminder to referees, the French Football Federation (FFF) stated that stopping matches for this reason was not acceptable, in accordance with the neutrality of football and the desire to keep sports and religion separate. While the request was not explicitly put forward by the players, the international defender Lucas Digne took to Instagram to react to the e-mail:
“[In] 2023, we can stop a match for 20 minutes for decisions, but not [one] minute to drink water.”
In England, where he plays, a different choice has been made. Whether rules are flexible or stricter, players sometimes deliberately kick the ball out of bounds to allow practising the few Muslim players to break their fast on the sidelines without interrupting the game. The goalkeeper for Tunisia, for example, faked injury during a match at sundown to enable his teammates to rush to drink water and snack on dates.
