Habib Beye deplores the French Football Federation's ban on match breaks during Ramadan. For the Red Star coach, Ramadan has more advantages than disadvantages.
As was the case last year, the French Football Federation has formally prohibited match breaks during the Ramadan period and it has gone even further. Players from national teams currently in training are not allowed to observe the youngster. Those who objected were simply excluded. These drastic measures are nothing short of discrimination, says Habib Beye. The Red Stars coach sees only advantages in fasting during Ramadan.
I really respect my players' faith, whatever it may be, as long as I have players of the Muslim faith who are observing Ramadan - but I also have players who are observing Lent at the moment, which is 46 days, so it's a different approach to this religion," Habib Beye told a press conference. In any case, we take the liberty of accompanying our players in their faith.We only see the disadvantages. I only see the advantages: it creates cohesion, it creates discussion, it creates solidarity. When we recruited our players, we were well aware of who they were as human beings and what religion they belonged to. We didn't wake up the day before Ramadan. What I see today is very hard to read, very hard to hear. Because I call it religious discrimination.If you do it to one religion, you have to do it to all religions."
For the former Senegalese international, the Ramadan debate shouldn't even exist. He declares: "I have immense respect for my players who are in their faith because, what we don't realize, is that at that moment, they find themselves with themselves, and that's an additional strength for them. I hate this debate about religion because it shouldn't exist. It shouldn't be a problem for any coach who trains players of multiple faiths. My mom's Catholic, my dad's Muslim, I don't practice any religion. So I have no interest in defending one religion or another. My position is simply that of a coach who supports his players in everything they do, especially when they're practicing what's proper to them, and which is part of their upbringing and the way they're built as men. These are values that you can't destroy, that you can't question," says Habib Beye.
