Lamine Yamal receives exemption from Ramadan on Barcelona game days | OneFootball

Currently the holiest celebration in the Islamic calendar is taking place with Ramadan lasting from the end of February to the end of March. One of the key traditions is fasting, where between sunrise and sundown, Muslims avoid food and drink. Of course this has an impact on footballers too.

For Lamine Yamal, it is his first Ramadan actively participating in the fast. Barcelona have put him on a special diet and adjusted his nutrition to suit the fasting. At sundown, family and friends tend to meet for a celebratory meal, and Lamine Yamal is going to his uncle’s house in Rocafonda, where they are meeting. So far it certainly hasn’t affected his form.

This is not new for Barcelona, who most recently had Ousmane Dembele and Franck Kessie observing the tradition. However certain exceptions are permitted to the fasting, and Diario AS note that the 17-year-old has permission from the authorities to miss the fast on game days.

There are 34 Muslim footballers currently active in La Liga, according to Relevo, including two for Real Madrid in Arda Guler and Antonio Rudiger. The side with the most players potentially fasting are Real Valladolid, with seven Muslim players amongst their ranks, while Villarreal have four.

Image via Eurosport

Their information is that it is relatively normal for nutrition teams to have a plan for the Ramadan fast, which is now common at most clubs in La Liga. Some players strictly obey the fast, others do not practice it at all, and some, like Lamine Yamal, only miss it out on game days.

In Spain at the very least, many more of the games are after sundown, allowing players to take on sustenance either before or during the games, whereas games during the day are trickier to accommodate. Karim Benzema was at one point famous for hitting his most purple patches during the month of March while fasting.