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Will the World Cup's Muslim stars risk glory to fast for Ramadan? Big name players must choose whether to follow Islamic rules
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2674988/As-Algerias-manager-hits-media-asking-players-observing-Ramadan-questions-remain-World-Cups-Muslim-stars-fasting-remainder-tournament.html#ixzz36D7wOzks
Many of the biggest names in the tournament are devout Muslims - including France's Karim Benzema, and Paul Pogba, Germany's Mesut Ozil, Belgium's Marouane Fellaini, Adnan Januzaj and Eden Hazard, eight Swiss stars including Xherdan Shaqiri, and the entire Algeria side.
Ramadan requires Muslims to forgo all food and liquid during daylight hours - something experts warn could hamper performance at the best of times, but could potentially be dangerous as players push their body to the limit in the South American heat while battling it out for football's greatest prize.
Religious: Many of the biggest names in the tournament are devout Muslims, including members of the Algerian national side, who typically bow down and pray when celebrating a goal
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Stars: Many of the biggest names in the World Cup are Muslims. It is not known whether Karim Benzama (left) will be fasting, but Mesut Ozil (right) has already said he will be eating and drinking as usual during Ramadan
Speculation over which players are observing Ramadan - which began yesterday - is raging in countries with a number of Muslim stars, particularly in France, Switzerland and Belgium.
It is the first time a World Cup has overlapped with Ramadan for 28 years.
Perhaps unsurprisingly the debate is at its most fervent in Algeria - the only Muslim-majority country still playing in the tournament.
This morning the team's Bosnian manager Vahid Halilhodzic accused the media of a 'lack of respect and ethics' for repeatedly asking which players would be fasting during Ramadan.
A Muslim himself, Halilhodzic said: 'Ramadan is here and I read in some Algerian newspapers criticisms about me, about my image, about my honour... this is really disgusting.'
'Those who continue criticising our team and my actions, I think it's shameful,' he added, before threatening to walk out of the press conference if he was asked any more questions about Ramadan.
Although Halilhodzic insisted each player was entirely free to make his own decision, a number of prominent clerics in Algeria have demanded they observe Ramadan while playing.
Several of the more prominent Muslim footballers still involved in the tournament are yet to make a comment on whether or not they will be observing Ramadan.
While Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, individuals who are travelling or going to war can be exempted from fasting.
Those players that choose not to observe Ramadan will most likely be doing so under this provision.
From the French side, neither Karim Benzema, Mamadou Sakho or Paul Pogba have made a public statement on the subject and their intention remains unclear.
Bacary Sagna, meanwhile, has revealed he won't be taking part, saying: 'I know that as a Muslim there are certain...'laws', which are not allowed to be avoided, but personally, I’m not going to do it.'
'Everyone’s free to as they like, I completely respect those who are going to practice it…I don’t think it poses any problem, he added.'
But, you have to be ready and take responsibility for it…and to be careful not to have any deficiencies, to avoid injuries, because at this level, you don’t get away with mistakes,' he went on.
However Newcastle star Moussa Sissoko has made statements in previous years saying he always observes Ramadan no matter what he is doing, so it seems likely he will among those fasting.
The Belgium side could also be hit by several players fasting, including Marouane Fellaini, Adnan Januzaj and Eden Hazard - although, again, none of these players have publicly revealed their plans.
Mousa Dembélé, on the other hand, has refused to observe the fasting saying he cannot risk 'losing power' by not fuelling himself efficiently for matches in such challenging conditions.
Germany and Nigeria also have several Muslim players, but while the Germans - including Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira - dismissed the idea of observing Ramadan, the Nigerians Ramon Azeez and Ahmed Musa are expected to take part.
Other than Algeria, the team with the most Muslim players remaining in the World Cup is Switzerland, which has a large Islamic population due to asylum seekers the Balkan states.
Among the Swiss Muslim stars are Bayern Munich's Xherdan Shaqiri - who has been one of the tournament's best performers - Napoli trio Gökhan Inler, Valon Behrami and Blerim Džemaili, as well as Admir Mehmedi, Haris Seferović and Granit Xhaka.
The majority of these stars are not expected to observe Ramadan, although one Swiss player who might is ex-Arsenal man Philippe Senderos who converted is Islam in 2012 and likely to be more observant as a result.
Religious: Many of the biggest names in the tournament are devout Muslims, including members of the
Other than Algeria, the remaining team with the most Muslim players is Switzerland. Philippe Senderos (left) converted to Islam in 2012, while Xherdan Shaqiri (right) was born into a Muslim family in the former Yugoslavia
Although he is often seen praying before matches, France's Paul Pogba (left) has kept quiet on whether he will observe Ramadan. His teammate Bacary Sagna (right) has said he will not be fasting, however
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2674988/As-Algerias-manager-hits-media-asking-players-observing-Ramadan-questions-remain-World-Cups-Muslim-stars-fasting-remainder-tournament.html#ixzz36D7wOzks
- Many of the biggest names still playing in the World Cup are Muslims
- For the first time in 28 years, Ramadan and the World Cup overlap
- Ramadan requires believers not to eat or drink during daylight hours
- Questions remain whether stars like Karim Benzema will observe fasting
- Experts are worried about how Ramadan could affect players' performances
- Also concerned about safety of players not drinking in the extreme heat
- France play at 5pm BST, while Germany and Algeria face off at 9pm
Many of the biggest names in the tournament are devout Muslims - including France's Karim Benzema, and Paul Pogba, Germany's Mesut Ozil, Belgium's Marouane Fellaini, Adnan Januzaj and Eden Hazard, eight Swiss stars including Xherdan Shaqiri, and the entire Algeria side.
Ramadan requires Muslims to forgo all food and liquid during daylight hours - something experts warn could hamper performance at the best of times, but could potentially be dangerous as players push their body to the limit in the South American heat while battling it out for football's greatest prize.
Religious: Many of the biggest names in the tournament are devout Muslims, including members of the Algerian national side, who typically bow down and pray when celebrating a goal
+10
Stars: Many of the biggest names in the World Cup are Muslims. It is not known whether Karim Benzama (left) will be fasting, but Mesut Ozil (right) has already said he will be eating and drinking as usual during Ramadan
Speculation over which players are observing Ramadan - which began yesterday - is raging in countries with a number of Muslim stars, particularly in France, Switzerland and Belgium.
It is the first time a World Cup has overlapped with Ramadan for 28 years.
Perhaps unsurprisingly the debate is at its most fervent in Algeria - the only Muslim-majority country still playing in the tournament.
This morning the team's Bosnian manager Vahid Halilhodzic accused the media of a 'lack of respect and ethics' for repeatedly asking which players would be fasting during Ramadan.
A Muslim himself, Halilhodzic said: 'Ramadan is here and I read in some Algerian newspapers criticisms about me, about my image, about my honour... this is really disgusting.'
'Those who continue criticising our team and my actions, I think it's shameful,' he added, before threatening to walk out of the press conference if he was asked any more questions about Ramadan.
Although Halilhodzic insisted each player was entirely free to make his own decision, a number of prominent clerics in Algeria have demanded they observe Ramadan while playing.
Several of the more prominent Muslim footballers still involved in the tournament are yet to make a comment on whether or not they will be observing Ramadan.
While Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, individuals who are travelling or going to war can be exempted from fasting.
Those players that choose not to observe Ramadan will most likely be doing so under this provision.
From the French side, neither Karim Benzema, Mamadou Sakho or Paul Pogba have made a public statement on the subject and their intention remains unclear.
Bacary Sagna, meanwhile, has revealed he won't be taking part, saying: 'I know that as a Muslim there are certain...'laws', which are not allowed to be avoided, but personally, I’m not going to do it.'
'Everyone’s free to as they like, I completely respect those who are going to practice it…I don’t think it poses any problem, he added.'
But, you have to be ready and take responsibility for it…and to be careful not to have any deficiencies, to avoid injuries, because at this level, you don’t get away with mistakes,' he went on.
However Newcastle star Moussa Sissoko has made statements in previous years saying he always observes Ramadan no matter what he is doing, so it seems likely he will among those fasting.
The Belgium side could also be hit by several players fasting, including Marouane Fellaini, Adnan Januzaj and Eden Hazard - although, again, none of these players have publicly revealed their plans.
Mousa Dembélé, on the other hand, has refused to observe the fasting saying he cannot risk 'losing power' by not fuelling himself efficiently for matches in such challenging conditions.
Germany and Nigeria also have several Muslim players, but while the Germans - including Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira - dismissed the idea of observing Ramadan, the Nigerians Ramon Azeez and Ahmed Musa are expected to take part.
Other than Algeria, the team with the most Muslim players remaining in the World Cup is Switzerland, which has a large Islamic population due to asylum seekers the Balkan states.
Among the Swiss Muslim stars are Bayern Munich's Xherdan Shaqiri - who has been one of the tournament's best performers - Napoli trio Gökhan Inler, Valon Behrami and Blerim Džemaili, as well as Admir Mehmedi, Haris Seferović and Granit Xhaka.
The majority of these stars are not expected to observe Ramadan, although one Swiss player who might is ex-Arsenal man Philippe Senderos who converted is Islam in 2012 and likely to be more observant as a result.
Religious: Many of the biggest names in the tournament are devout Muslims, including members of the
Other than Algeria, the remaining team with the most Muslim players is Switzerland. Philippe Senderos (left) converted to Islam in 2012, while Xherdan Shaqiri (right) was born into a Muslim family in the former Yugoslavia
Although he is often seen praying before matches, France's Paul Pogba (left) has kept quiet on whether he will observe Ramadan. His teammate Bacary Sagna (right) has said he will not be fasting, however
