On Sunday, the question on whether national team managers have special arrangements with Muslim players regarding their fasting obligations in observation of Ramadan almost driven Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodzic to a breaking point during a press conference on Sunday, TIME said. Halilhodzic, who is known to have testy relations with some of the Algerian media and the country's football association, threatened to leave the press conference should the issue about the fasting will continue to be pursued.
The magazine said that observant Muslims avoid food and liquid from dawn to dusk during Ramadan as their religious duty. For some of the devout Muslim athletes, they opt to practice fasting during training or the actual competition. However, it reportedly creates lineup selection issues for the sports coaches in team sports. And with the sweltering temperatures in Brazil, media could not help ask coaches of teams who have Muslim players about their arrangements regarding the latter's religious observations.
Halilhodzic, who is a French-Bosnian, viewed questions about his players' religious practices as a form of voyeurism, accusing them of putting him in a position that would elicit hatred to him and his family no matter what his comments about Ramadan are.
"(Fasting was a) private issue and players will do exactly as they wish. When you ask this question you lack respect and ethics. I would like this to stop. Stop this controversy. Talk about football. And stop asking me about Ramadan, otherwise I will get up and leave," he said.
Nonetheless, Halilhodzic confirmed that his players are to receive a tailored schedule from a traveling imam to ensure that they respect the holy month without suffering physically during their crucial matches, Daily Mail reported.
Algeria is set to compete against Germany today in the last-16 rounds. The British paper said the match would be the first time both countries have met since the conspiracy scandal at the 1982 World Cup called the "Disgrace of Dijon," when then West Germany and Austria had conspired to produce a 1-0 win to be able to eliminate the Algerians from the tournament. Although Algeria emerged victorious in their match against West Germany that year at 2-1, it was not enough for them to advance to the finals.
