French midfielder Mahamadou Diawara has quit the country’s under-19 squad due to new implemented regulations prohibiting Muslim players from fasting during Ramadan while working with the national team.
According to ESPN sources the new regulations, which apply to all teams from the U16 level up to the senior squad, did not sit well with Diawara, and he made the decision to quit the squad, heading back to his hometown.
Nantes player Dehmaine Tabibou Assoumani has been called up by the French Football Federation (FFF) to replace Diawara.
In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro on Wednesday FFF president Philippe Diallo said, “I have put in place new rules regarding players fasting for Ramadan while on national duty, a ‘principle of neutrality’ is written into the organisation’s founding statutes and that the measures ensure that religion does not interfere with an athlete.”
The new FFF rules say, “Players picked for French national teams can’t fast during Ramadan. They must follow the regular schedule of the team’s activities.”
An agent who was representing a number of players of France’s youth and senior sides told ESPN. “Some players are not happy with this decision. They believe that their religion is not respected and that they are not respected either. Some don’t want to cause a fuss but Mahamadou was not happy with it so he left.”
