Leeds condemn ‘disappointing’ boos heard during Ramadan pause

2026-03-02 - 19:47

By Adegboyega Adeleye Leeds United have condemned the loud boos from the crowd during a brief pause in play to allow players observing Ramadan to break their fast in Saturday’s match at Elland Road, with the club saying it was “disappointing”. A message went up on the big screen in the 13th minute of the game between Leeds and Manchester City on Saturday, informing supporters inside Elland Road what the stoppage was for. Players from both sides of the pitch were told to take on fluids and energy supplements. However, there was a cacophony of jeers and whistles throughout the break, which lasted about a minute. Comments under Leeds’ Instagram posts from the weekend have been overwhelmed with messages about Ramadan and the reaction of supporters to the break. It is understood that a number of fans have emailed the club expressing their anger at the lack of public response from the club, with one saying they were “deeply disturbed” and “embarrassed” by what took place. In a generic email reply sent by Leeds’ supporter liaison officer, seen by BBC Sport, it said: “The club is aware of the incident and it was disappointing that some supporters chose to boo during the pause in play to allow players observing Ramadan to break their fast. “The club is currently looking into why this happened and what can be done moving forward to prevent incidents of a similar nature from happening again in the future.” When asked about the issue in his pre-match news conference before Tuesday’s Premier League game against Sunderland, Leeds manager Daniel Farke said the act was ‘really disrespectful.’ “To be honest, if it was really disrespectful in these terms because of the break, then you have to say we all have to learn out of this,” he said. “During the game, it was not my feeling because it was a surprise for everyone that there was this little break.” In the clash at Elland Road on Saturday, a message was displayed on the big screen inside the stadium stating: “As tonight’s match takes place inside the holy month of Ramadan, play has been paused briefly to allow players to break their fast.” However, the screen is not visible to all supporters, and the jeers grew louder. Manchester City had three Muslim players in their starting lineup, namely Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush, with Abdukodir Khusanov on the bench. Manager Guardiola condemned the actions of supporters, saying: “We took on a little bit of vitamins because [Rayan] Cherki, [Rayan] Ait-Nouri did not eat today. “It is a modern world, right? [You see] what is happening in the world today. Respect religion, diversity, that is the point. “The Premier League says you can have one or two minutes, you can have for the [fasting] players to do it [break their fast]. It is what it is, unfortunately.” Anti-discrimination group Kick It Out said the booing was “massively disappointing”, while Leeds assistant Eddie Riemer added in