Turkish Second Division Game Halted To Players Could Break Ramadan Fast

A second division game in Turkey was temporarily halted and allowed players to break their Ramadan fast.

10 minutes into the match against Giresunspor on Tuesday, an injury meant gave Ankara Keciorengucu's Muslim players the opportunity to eating bananas and dates.

The video has since gone viral on social media, with over 3 million views on the footage from beIN Sports Turkey's Twitter account.

The caption read: "When the injury occurred in the GZT Giresunspor - Ankara Keçiörengücü match and the call to prayer coincided, the players started their fast during the match."

Ramadan, the Islamic festival, started on Monday. As part of one of the five pillars of Islam, between dawn and sunset Muslims will not eat or drink as they show their devotion to their religion and Allah.

Typically, muslims will have a meal (suhoor) just before dawn and break the fast through another (the iftar) straight after sunset.

In 2018, a Tunisian goalkeeper went down injured so that his teammates could break their fast by eating and drinking. He did this in two different fixtures in the build-up to the World Cup.

A year later, Ajax pair Hakim Ziyech and Noussair Mazraoui were both observing Ramadan during the Champions League semi-final second leg against Spurs.

The Moroccan duo broke their fast in the 24th minute and just 11 minutes later Ziyech made it 2-0 with a glorious strike.

Liverpool's Mo Salah, who celebrates every goal by praying, was subject to some speculation regarding whether he would fast ahead of the 2019 Champions League final.

Manager Jurgen Klopp had no problem with Salah's decision either.

"There is no problem with the fast of my players, I respect their religion, they were always wonderful and they offered the best whether they were fasting or not," Klopp said in a press conference.

"Religion is private, how I understand it.

"Nothing to say about that but all fine, you will see him out there. In training he is full of power - you need to be the day before a final."

Topics: Football, Turkey

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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