Ramadan: Fear grips Liverpool over Salah and Mane
Salah and Sadio Mane will not publicly speak about their intentions, but they are two devout Muslims who do observe Ramadan
Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are set to celebrate Ramadan for a month from Saturday with the Reds facing a key month of fixtures that will define their season
Fasting and elite sport wouldn’t seem to mix if you thought about it. But, yet again, Premier League stars will observe their religion and ensure their performances don’t suffer.
Liverpool stars Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will not publicly speak about their intentions, but they are two devout Muslims who do observe Ramadan. It is what they’ve done for all their careers.
This Saturday the holy month will begin, ending with the celebration of Eid on May 2. Muslims around the world will observe the practice of fasting during daylight hours.
That means no food or fluids will be consumed in that time. It is a practice to cleanse the soul and mind.
Salah and Mane are both proud of their faiths. They celebrate their goals by performing sujood, the Islamic act of prostration. And they are expected to take part in Ramadan.
But sometimes they can break their fast as there are exceptions. Like when travelling certain distances or when there is a need to.
As Kop boss Jurgen Klopp has said in the past, their religion is private and they won’t be making declarations on when or when they are not observing fasting.
What they will ensure is they won’t let it affect their performances.
Both Salah and Mane’s stats have previously shown no signs of dipping off when playing during the holy month. #
They will tailor their training around fasting to ensure they remain at peak performance. Muslim Chaplains in Sport (MCS) is a group which offers support to Premier League and EFL clubs ahead of and during Ramadan.
Liverpool - and title rivals Manchester City - are two of the leading clubs to work with the group.
Clubs involved seek Islamic guidance from MCS on behalf of their Muslim players, including regarding issues such as deferring fasts so their performances in training and during matches are not affected.
Liverpool face a particularly gruelling April with Premier League fixtures against Watford, Manchester City, Manchester United, Everton and Newcastle.
They also have an FA Cup semi-final against City, a two-legged Champions League quarter-final against Benfica and potentially the first leg of a semi-final in the latter competition if they progress.
