Goalkeeper ‘forced to fake injury’ to let Muslim team-mates break Ramadan fast after clubs refused to follow the Premier League’s lead
A goalkeeper in Ligue 1 is reported to have faked an injury to allow his Muslim team-mates break their Ramadan fast at the weekend.
The player in question is Nantes shot-stopper Anthony Lopes with the incident taking place during their 2-0 win over Le Harve on Sunday.
In a video circulating on the X, Lopes went down with an apparent left hamstring injury in the 74th minute while the ball was out of play.
As the 35-year-old received treatment on the pitch, five of his team-mates could be seen rushing to the sideline to eat some dates and drink water to break their fast.
After being attended to, the former Portugal international was seen getting back on to his feet slowly to allow his team-mates some more time before play continued.
The victory was crucial to Nantes’ bid to stay in the French top-flight with the club 17th in the 18-team table. They are level on points with Auxerre who are 16th but are in the relegation zone due to a poorer goal difference by two goals. The bottom two teams will be relegated.
Anthony Lopes is reported to have faked an injury to allow his Nantes team-mates to break their Ramadan fast during their 2-0 win over Le Harve in Ligue 1 on Sunday
French football is yet to adopt the policy of some other countries that permit games to be paused to religious reasons.
In 2021, an agreement was put in place to allow Muslim players to break their Ramadan fast during a Premier League match.
A year later the same approach was adopted by the Bundesliga.
Ramadan began on February 17 and will run through until March 19. Because the holy month follows the moon cycle, it has to be confirmed each year, with the crescent moon spotted on the evening of February 17, officially beginning the holiday.
One of the five pillars of Islam is that during Ramadan, Muslims fast during daylight hours to show their devotion to their religion.
