Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers confirmed he took out defender Wesley Fofana after an hour in the 3-0 win over West Brom as he was fasting for Ramadan.
The 20-year-old is an avid Muslim and is currently participating in the Islamic festival, which started just over a week ago.
As part of one of the five pillars of Islam, Muslims will not eat or drink between hours during the day as they demonstrate their devotion to their religion and Allah.
It can be a difficult situation for elite level athletes to handle given the demands of their work.
Last night Fofana hadn’t eaten or drank since dawn and so Rodgers wanted to defend his central defender by replacing Marc Albrighton in the 60th minute of the 20:00 kickoff and allowing the former Saint-Etienne to break the fast.
Rodgers confirmed Wesley Fofana was brought off after an hour because he's currently fasting for Ramadan – and he wanted to protect his young defender who hadn't eaten or drank since sunrise pic.twitter.com/kXI1BLJsmI
— BBC Leicester Sport (@BBCRLSport) April 22, 2021
Rodgers was praised for showing outstanding men’s management skills, but the Foxes boss praised Fofana for the level he coached and played during the Ramadan period.
According to Leicester Mercury, Rodgers said: “He’s fine. He’s a young player in the middle of Ramadan, so he doesn’t eat during the day.
“It’s remarkable. If you think about his weekend performance in the FA Cup semi-final, where he didn’t eat all day and then had his first taste of food with 15 minutes to go, and then the same today, with a kick starting at 8pm, hasn’t eaten or drank all day and can still perform at that level.
“He was just one where I thought if I could get him off, he could give him some food on the bench and protect him a little bit.
“I’ve worked with a lot of players who have a commitment to their faith and for many boys this gives them strength.
He finds incredible strength to continually play and train during Ramadan. He is a great talent and a great player for us.
Fofana was one of the signatures of the season and delivered a series of impressive performances in the center of the Leicester backline.
Last night he, Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu kept the third clean sheet in four games as a trio while Leicester made it easier for West Brom to work in the first half.
Assault partners Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho were on target on both sides of Evans’ goal in the first 36 minutes at King Power Stadium.
The victory brought Leicester to third place in the standings, four points ahead of Chelsea and West Brom.