Ramadan: Nantes coach won’t summon player who is fasting

Not called up because he refused to break his Ramadan fast on match day. It happened to Nantes’ Algerian defender Jaouen Hadjam, a practicing Muslim, who was excluded from his coaching for the match he lost against Reims in Ligue 1 on Sunday. Hadjam, who arrived on loan from Paris FC in January, had been employed nine times by coach Koumbouare.

Explanation

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“Jaouen? No controversy – explained the coach of the yellow-greens, who occupy 14th place in the standings with 30 points, only 4 above the relegation zone -. I support those who decide to fast, but on matchdays they shouldn’t do it. For which is very simple: if you don’t eat on the day of the match, you don’t play. It’s not a punishment, I set the rules, it’s his choice and I respect it as such”. The 20-year-old would have agreed to break his fast only during away games, according to local media reports. Ramadan, which ends on April 20, requires no food or drink from sunrise to sunset. In recent days, a controversy had arisen in France regarding the suspension of matches at sunset to allow Muslim players to quench their thirst and eat food before returning to the field. “These interruptions do not comply with federal statutes – read the federal press release sent to the arbitrators – Failure to comply with the regulations exposes one to disciplinary and/or criminal procedures”.

amrabat and champions

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In Serie A and in the Premier League, however, a stoppage is allowed, as we saw on Saturday at San Siro during Inter-Fiorentina, when the Moroccan Amrabat approached the bench and ate a banana as soon as the sun went down. Curiosity: many were surprised by the decidedly unusual start times of the last qualifying matches for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations or the last day of the Champions Caf group stage. For example, Wydad Casablanca-Js Kabylie kicked off at 10pm local time on Sunday. Obviously we waited for the sunset and the players were given time to feed themselves (and also digest…) and quench their thirst before playing. It’s called respect and tolerance, it’s not that difficult. It should also be explained to Mr. Koumbouare…