Youseff Chippo had a secret.
Just a few months into his life as a professional footballer in Europe, Chippo, a Moroccan midfielder, was struggling to prove himself and didn't want to do anything that could harm his chances of success. That included revealing that he was fasting during Ramadana normal practice for the billion Muslims in the world, but not in the FC Porto dressing room in the winter of 1997.
The team's double training sessions, in the morning and afternoon, were arduous. Participating without food or water from dawn to dusk made things more difficult. Finally, after quietly enduring days of dizziness and headaches, Chippo shared it with his team, and the club came up with a plan to conserve his energy.
However, for decades, other Muslims found the teams to be less accommodating, at least officially. So in a sport where continuous play and a lack of substitutions offer few opportunities for a mid-match trip to the bench, they have long relied on improvised solutions to break their fasts: coteammates who faked injuries just after sunset to buy their Muslim colleagues a moment to go to the sideline; a few dates or a sugary drink shoved into your hand by a member of staff at the agreed time; trainers running to tend to an injured knee carrying a kit curiously stocked with bananas.
But football, which once saw fasting as something to be discouraged, is changing its ways.
In Europe, that means many Muslim players now benefit from personalized nutrition plans before and during the bleeding month; fast and friendly practice schedules; and even league-sanctioned game interruptions that allow them to break their fasts on the field.
Some changes reflect a new acceptance of diversity in rich competencies, such as English Premier Leaguewhose reach and fan base extend beyond national borders.
Muslim players also now represent an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars for elite teams, and those players are increasingly vocal about what they need.
Two seasons ago, the forward Liverpool's Sadio Mane asked his team captain to approach coach Jürgen Klopp to change training during Ramadan to the morning, so that he and other Muslims on the team, such as the star striker Muhammad Salah, could participate closer to their pre-dawn meal. Klopp obeyed.
“They take it very seriously because they understand how important it is for me and also for them, because they need to keep me in shape,” said Mohamed Elneny, Egyptian midfielder for the Premier League Arsenal.
Elneny, 31, is one of three Arsenal players who have fasted during Ramadan this season. The team, he said, begins preparing the players about two weeks before the first fast.
Leagues in England and the Netherlands have also introduced rules that explicitly allow calling Ramadan break during matchesand Germany's referees are empowered to stop play for the same reason.
The French soccer federation recently faced criticism after it issued guidelines ordering teams and officials not to stop play so players could break their fasts, and for banning players training with federation teams from fasting. French authorities said that was required by federation rules on secularism. At least one top player walked out of a national team camp in protest.
In England, the Premier League has allowed clubs with Muslim players to arrange with referees for short evening breaks since 2021. And the players' union has produced a 30-page document that is a mix of a Ramadan primer and best fasting practices.
The Premier League's first organized stoppage of play occurred three years ago, during a match between Crystal Palace and Leicester. Zafar Iqbal, former Crystal Palace doctor, said that before the match medical staff from both teams approached the referee about the need for a break. At the appointed time, the Palace goalkeeper delayed a clearance to allow it to happen.
“When the ball went out of play, the action stopped and the two players ran to the touchline to have a drink and some dates,” Iqbal said. “No one else inside the stadium noticed because it happened quickly.”
Harry Redknapp, former England manager, said his introduction to Ramadan came in 2000, when he was coaching the West Ham. Frédéric Kanouté, The team's star forward, a Frenchman of Malian descent, told him that he would not eat or drink during the day for the rest of the month. Redknapp later moved to Portsmouth, where the team included more Muslim players, including Sulley Muntari, a Ghanaian known for running tirelessly. The club had food and drinks ready when the games extended into the night in Ramadan.
Muntari's fast would later make headlines when he moved to Italy, where his coach at Inter Milan, José Mourinho, once pulled him out of a match and suggested that the holy month “has not come at the ideal time for a player plays a game.” The coach claimed that his comments were taken out of context.
Knowing that a teammate can't even indulge in a sip of water during training or games can be disconcerting for non-Muslims. Some are curious. Ahmed Elmohamady, an Egyptian defender who played in England for more than a decade, said a former teammate, Irishman Paul McShane, even joined him in fasting for a day one year.
“It was great to see,” Elmohamady said, although he admitted McShane didn’t last. “He did it once, but he said it would be very difficult to do it for 30 days.”
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