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Pep Guardiola has called on football supporters to “respect religion and diversity” after fans booed a brief stoppage in play at Elland Road to allow Muslim players to break their Ramadan fast.
Play was halted in the 13th minute of Manchester City’s 1-0 win against Leeds after the sun had set to allow the Muslim players to eat. At this point, despite a clear message on the big screen, fans audibly jeered the situation.
“It is a modern world, right?” Guardiola said. “[You see] what is happening in the world today. Respect religion, diversity, that is the point. The Premier League says you can have one or two minutes, you can have for the [fasting] players to do it [break their fast]. It is what it is, unfortunately.
“We took on a little bit of vitamins because [Rayan] Cherki, [Rayan] Aït-Nouri did not eat today. No more than that. The question is, can they do it or not? What is the problem?”
The Leeds assistant head coach Edmund Riemer – attending the press conference in place of Daniel Farke who was shown a red card after the final whistle for confronting the referee over perceived timewasting – added: “I’m probably the guy who doesn’t hear a lot because I’m really focused on the game, but I’ve heard about it. Obviously some of the supporters did it, so we try to learn from it. It’s disappointing, we need to do better next time.”
Pep Guardiola spoke on Friday about how Omar Marmoush, Aït-Nouri, Cherki and Abdukodir Khusanov deal with the complexities of being Muslim and a professional athlete.
Stoppages of this nature have become a regular feature in football matches in recent years during Ramadan. “They follow this religious tradition. We have good nutritionists and they adapt to what the team needs,” said Guardiola in his pre-match briefing. “We cannot adapt the schedule for the Premier League [kick-off] times and I think they are used to it – they are not young and have been playing [for] many years during this period.
“For the players I think it is not new. Both Rayans, Omar and Khusa, it is not the first time for [observing] Ramadan and they know perfectly how to handle it.”
Kick it Out, the anti-discrimination charity, said in a statement: “It is massively disappointing that some Leeds United fans jeered when Manchester City’s players broke their fast during the first half of the match at Elland Road. This was compounded by the fact that an explanation was displayed on a big screen inside the stadium.
“Pausing the game to allow Muslim players to break their fast during Ramadan has been an agreed protocol for several years now. It’s an important and visible part of making the game welcoming for Muslim players and communities. But as tonight’s reaction shows, football still has a long way to go in terms of education and acceptance.”
