US EditionEnglish Soccer to Add Stoppages to Games for Religious Purposes
Matches scheduled for evening kick-offs include stoppages to accommodate fasting Muslim players, with breaks occurring during natural pauses like throw-ins and free-kicks.
- This month the Premier League and Championship will add in-game stoppages to let Muslim players break their fast during Ramadan.
- Because elite athletes still train and play during Ramadan, 17:30 kick-offs on Saturdays and 16:30 on Sundays are scheduled during sunset hours, affecting fasting practices.
- Club captains and match officials will coordinate by stopping play at natural pauses such as goal-kicks, free-kicks, or throw-ins to allow fasting players to break their fast, while team chefs prepare later halal meals for away matches.
- Evening kick-offs that finish after sunset will allow Muslim players to consume water and food during matches, helping them maintain religious observance as former Everton player Abdoulaye Doucoure described in 2023.
- Operationally, the measure requires clubs and match officials to prepare procedures this month in the Premier League and Championship, coordinating stoppages through captains during play for religious breaks.
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16 Articles
The Independent
The Independent (US)Will there be Ramadan breaks at Premier League matches this weekend?
Games in Ramadan will be stopped to allow players to eat and drink if there is sunset during the matches
Premier League, EFL Schedule Ramadan Breaks for Players.
PULSE POINTSWHAT HAPPENED: The English Premier League, the highest league in professional soccer/football in the country, is set to continue to allow players “Ramadan breaks” so that Muslim players may break their fast while the match is paused.WHO WAS INVOLVED: Leicester City’s Wesley Fofana, Crystal Palace’s Cheikhou Kouyate, and other Muslim Premier League players.WHEN & WHERE: Ramadan breaks will take place throughout 2026 across the Premier…
The Premier League and the EFL will allow Muslim players to break their fast for Ramadan during the matches. Although eye, that does not mean that there will be a special pause, as well as with hydration breaks. On the contrary, they will take advantage of the moves in which the game has to stop momentarily, as a stripe, a foul and even a change. And if they ask why? The answer is short and simple. In England there are a significant number of Mu…
The Ramadan begins today, February 17, and ends on March 19. For a month, Muslims will fast during daylight hours, without eating or drinking anything until sunset. And the Premier League and the English Football League will again apply exceptional breaks in which Muslim players will be allowed to break the fast once the sun sets. This is a measure that the Premier League put into practice for the first time in 2021, during a match between Leice…
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