Tunisia keeper Mouez Hassen ‘fakes’ injury to break Ramadan fast

Tunisia goalie ‘fakes’ an injury at sunset during World Cup warm-up so team-mates can break Ramadan fast and rush to the touchline to drink water and eat dates

  • Ramadan fasting presents a challenge to Muslim nations ahead of World Cup
  • Players are not permitted to eat or drink anything between sunrise and sunset
  • Breaking of the fast fell during second-half of two of Tunisia’s warm-up games
  • So goalkeeper Mouez Hassen ‘feigned’ injury so his players could eat and drink
  • The holy month will have finished by the time the World Cup kicks-off 

Tunisia’s national goalkeeper appeared to feign injuries during World Cup practice matches so his teammates could break their Ramadan fasts.

Mouez Hassen has gone down early in the second half of Tunisia’s games against Portugal and Turkey coinciding with sunset, which is when Ramadan fasting ends.

On both occasions that prompted his teammates to rush to the sidelines to eat dates and drink water before taking to the field again. 

Tunisia goalkeeper Mouez Hassen ‘feigned’ injury during their World Cup warm-up friendlies so that he and his team-mates can break their Ramadan fast by eating dates 

Hassen going down was the signal for Tunisia's players to rush to the sidelines and eat dates and drink water as they broke their fast at sunset during the friendly with Turkey

Hassen going down was the signal for Tunisia’s players to rush to the sidelines and eat dates and drink water as they broke their fast at sunset during the friendly with Turkey

The Tunisian goalkeeper also did something similar in their friendly with Portugal last week

The Tunisian goalkeeper also did something similar in their friendly with Portugal last week

What is Ramadan? 

Ramadan is the holiest month for the estimated 1.84 billion Muslims around the world, regarded as the month the holy Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

This year, Ramadan runs from May 15-16 (depending on the country) until the evening of June 14.

Hundreds of millions of Muslims will be refraining from eating, drinking and smoking from sunrise (Suhoor) until sunset (Iftar).

Observing Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam and the fasting is accompanied by spiritual reflection, worship and acts of charity.

While all Muslims are expected to observe Ramadan, exceptions are made for pregnant women, the disabled, the elderly, or if there is a danger to life from keeping the fast.

During their first match against Portugal, Nice keeper Hassen went down in the 58th-minute with an ‘injury’.

Just six minutes later, Tunisia – who are in England’s group at the World Cup – scored and the game finished 2-2.  

On Saturday against Turkey, Hassen lay flat on his back in the 49th-minute, allowing his team-mates to leave the pitch for food and water.

That match would also finish 2-2.

Tunisian sports reporters were the first to point out that Hassen’s injuries both coincided with sunset, which is when Iftar – or the breaking of the fast- begins.

Since that fact was pointed out, Hassen tweeted ‘I was injured bruv’ alongside laughing emojis.

He was responding to a tweet by fellow footballer Chaker Alhadhur, who joked: ‘It’s all right now, we know you were pretending.’

The Tunisian football federation has yet to comment on the timing of the two injury breaks.

Hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world are observing Ramadan at the moment. It is a month of self-discipline where Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from sunrise to sunset.

Fortunately, Tunisia and the other predominantly Muslim countries competing at the World Cup won’t have to worry during the tournament – Ramadan ends on June 14, the day the World Cup kicks-off.

Tunisia take on England in their opening match in Volgograd on June 18.

The requirement to fast during Ramadan presents nutrition challenges for Hassen and Tunisia

The requirement to fast during Ramadan presents nutrition challenges for Hassen and Tunisia

Tunisia's Ferjani Sassi celebrates scoring their second goal in the friendly draw with Turkey

Tunisia’s Ferjani Sassi celebrates scoring their second goal in the friendly draw with Turkey

Advertisement



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk