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How Muslims Are Changing English Football Culture - Sports - Nairaland

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How Muslims Are Changing English Football Culture by Skmoda360(m): 9:29am On Jul 05, 2013
When the Premier League started in 1992,
it included just one footballer known to
be Muslim, Tottenham's Spanish
midfielder Nayim. England's top division
now features 40 Muslim players and they
are having a significant effect on the
culture of the game.
On 5 February, 2012, Newcastle United
played Aston Villa at St James' Park
and one moment symbolised the impact
Muslim players were having on the
Premier League.
After 30 minutes, Demba Ba scored for
the home side. He raced to the corner
flag and was joined by Senegalese
compatriot Papiss Cisse. The two devout
Muslims then sank to their knees as if in
prayer.
The growing influx of Muslim players has
been fuelled by the internationalisation of
football.

Scouts have spread their nets wider in the
search for new talent and the Premier
League has become a much more
diverse place.
Young men with origins in remote
villages of west Africa or tough estates in
Paris have become global stars.
They may have found wealth and fame
playing for English clubs, but many still
hold on to something that is rooted in
their cultural identity, something that
guides them and comforts them when the
going gets tough - their Islamic faith.
When a player of the calibre of Ba, who
left Newcastle last year to join Chelsea,
says he is serious about his religion, some
might argue clubs cannot afford not to
listen.
And there is a genuine willingness, on the
part of managers and clubs, to
understand and accommodate the
religious needs of their players.
Muslim footballers are provided with
halal food, have the option to shower
separately from the rest of the team and
are given time and space for prayer.
Until recently, all Premier League players
named man of the match were awarded
a bottle of champagne.

Yet for Muslims, alcohol is forbidden. So
when Manchester City midfielder Yaya
Toure politely refused to accept his
award
on religious grounds during a television
interview, the competition organisers
were forced to sit up and take notice.
Champagne was phased out and now all
players receive a small trophy instead.
When Liverpool won the League Cup final
in 2012, players had the sensitivity to
move the clothes of their team doctor, a
devout Muslim, out of the changing
rooms so that alcohol wasn't sprayed
over them.
Yet there are challenges to managing
Muslim players and Ramadan is a
particular pressure point.
How can players who aren't eating or
drinking for up to 18 hours of the day
perform at the highest level over 90
minutes of a game?
Some players insist on fasting every day.
Others may fast during training but not a
match day. Clubs tend to muddle through
with some kind of compromise, but it
can't be an easy period for players or
managers.

Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby, 27, says:
"Arsenal would prefer me to not fast, but
they understand this is a special moment
for me and they try to accommodate
things to make me better."
Ba, 28, admits he has had some issues
with managers about Ramadan, but says
he has been steadfast.
"Every time I had a manager that was not
happy with it, I've said: 'Listen, I'll do it. If
my performance is still good, I'll keep
playing; if it's bad you drop me on the
bench, that's it.'"
Former Stoke striker Mamady Sidibe, 33,
insists: "You have some players who are
fasting on a match day and doing very
well, it's no problem. I make sure that on
match day I'm not fasting and not to give
excuses to people."
Ramadan this year ends on 7 August, 10
days before the start of the Premier
League season.
Sponsorship deals have also been a
source of tension. Teams who advertise
gambling and pay day loan companies
on their shirts put their Muslim players in
a difficult position, as it means they are
being used to promote activities which
contradict Islamic teaching.

Last month Cisse said he planned to talk to
Newcastle and their new sponsors,
Wonga,
because he was worried his Muslim
beliefs would be compromised if he
were seen to promote the company.
Crewe striker Nathan Ellington, 32, who
has also played for Wigan and West
Brom, takes the view that he cannot
affect which sponsor his club chooses.
He said: "I think that's usually out of the
hands of the Muslim. Although he's not
allowed to gamble, that's something you
cannot affect really."
Wigan keeper Ali Al-Habsi, 31, agrees:
"We are players and these are things that
are coming from the football club. We
can't do anything about it, we just do our
job."
Fans are also getting an education in
Muslim practices.
When manager Alan Pardew suggested
Ba's slow start to the 2011-12 season was
due to his fasting, fans picked up on it
and marked every subsequent goal with
a song celebrating how many goals he
had scored since Ramadan, to the tune of
Depeche Mode's Just Can't Get Enough.
Children playing football in the parks of
Newcastle have even been spotted falling
to their knees as if in prayer themselves
after scoring a goal.
They may not completely understand
what it means, but it's a sign that Muslim
practices are becoming a more familiar
part of popular British culture.

Re: How Muslims Are Changing English Football Culture by Skmoda360(m): 9:32am On Jul 05, 2013
Re: How Muslims Are Changing English Football Culture by Nobody: 10:30am On Jul 05, 2013
always changing everything and anything to suite them! soon they will demand that the sun should rise from the west and set in the east! i wont mention their them so they don't barn me again!

They have even forced seun to change the rules of NL! You mention the name of their religion and add "bad" to it you will be banned!

I fear themooo but i know run!

1 Like

Re: How Muslims Are Changing English Football Culture by bigfree: 10:43am On Jul 05, 2013
greateros: always changing everything and anything to suite them! soon they will demand that the sun should rise from the west and set in the east! i wont mention their them so they don't barn me again!

They have even forced seun to change the rules of NL! You mention the name of their religion and add "bad" to it you will be banned!

I fear themooo but i know run!

must you spew your religious intolerance everywhere you go? The beautiful game doesn't need racism,religious intolerance and the likes of you. Soccer is played by all; fasting muslims, cripples, orphans, rich, poor,young, old. Its a game of team-spirit, unity and discipline. Not an avenue to launch bottled up anger at another religious sect.

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