Islam and association football

During Ramadan in 2019, AFC Ajax players Hakim Ziyech and Noussair Mazroui entered the 2nd leg of UEFA Champions League Semi Final against Tottenham Hotspurs while fasting, only to break it 24 minutes into the match after the sun was fully set.

During the games against Portugal and Turkey, Hassan tactically collapsed immediately after sunset in order to give his teammates a chance to break their fast, who feasted on dates and ion drinks.

Harry Redknapp, when manager of West Ham United, was critical of player Frédéric Kanouté's prayer and fasting requirements.

[18] Several players, such as Demba Ba and Papiss Cissé, choose an act of prostration with forehead to the ground as a celebration after scoring a goal.

[19] In 2012, football commentator Gary Lineker was forced to apologise after describing one such celebration by player Karim Ait-Fana for French side Montpellier against Schalke in the Champions League as "eating grass".

[24] In May 2022, Blackburn Rovers became the first club in the United Kingdom to host Eid prayers with 2000 people celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan on the pitch.

[31] Whilst Islamophobia in the Premier League still exists, the presence of Muslim football stars in the Premier League may be having a positive effect on Islamophobia across English society according to a Stanford University study which linked an 18.9% drop in anti-Muslim hate crimes in the county where Liverpool is located since Salah joined the team.

[32] In June 2021, it was announced that Premier League clubs would enter into a code for balancing sponsorship deals with the beliefs of Muslim players.

[43] In July 2013, Newcastle United player Papiss Cissé refused to play in a shirt sponsored by Wonga.com, a payday loan company, as the charging of interest is not permitted under Islamic law.

Although the Iranian footballing federation argued that the kit was neither religious nor political, Iran were prevented from playing the game which was awarded, 3–0 to Jordan.

[49][50] In October 2024, women's footballer, Iqra Ismail was prevented from playing in tracksuit bottoms rather than shorts, which she believed compromised her religious beliefs.

Representing Regent's Park grassroots team, United Dragons FC, she was prevented by the referee from taking the field as she was told the wearing of shorts was a requirement.

In 2005, Egyptian footballer Mido whilst playing for Tottenham Hostpur was taunted by fans of West Ham United with "Your mum's a terrorist" and as a shoe bomber due to his likeness to Richard Reid.

The Premier league halted its tradition of giving champagne as a man-of-the-match award and altered it to a trophy when Muslim Manchester City star Yaya Touré began winning it on a regular basis.

[30] According to researchers at Stanford University, Liverpool FC and Egyptian star Mohammed Salah played an influential role in reducing Islamophobia in the region.

Since his arrival, Merseyside county witnessed a 18.9% drop in anti-Islam crimes and significantly decreased anti-Muslim tweets (7.8% to 3.8%) in comparison to fans of other top-tier English clubs thanks to increase in familiarity with Islam.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had tried to end the ban before his attempts were vetoed by the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The film tells the stories of girls disguising themselves as males in order to watch a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification match between Iran and Bahrain at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran.