Algeria FA deny coach requested players break Ramadan

Algeria's FA denies Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodzic requested players to break Ramadan

29 June 2014, 8:15pm

1 min read

Algeria's head coach Vahid Halilhodzic EPA/ARMANDO BABANI

Wolfgang Mueller, dpa

The Algerian Football Association (FAF) on Sunday denied reports that coach Vahid Halilhodzic had asked players to break the rules of Ramadan during the World Cup.

The Bosnian coach had "at no time asked the players of the national team, not to fast during this phase of the World Cup" FAF said on its website.

This contradicted a media report saying Halilhodzic wished his players to skip Ramadan ahead of Algeria's historic World Cup last 16 clash with Germany in Porto Alegre on Monday.

The Muslim month of Ramadan has just begun; during this time, Muslims are not supposed to eat or drink in daylight hours.

The FAF statement said that Halilhodzic respected Islam, and whether players chose to fast during Ramadan was a personal matter.