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Friday November 08, 2024

German Muslim footballer Mesut Ozil kisses bread thrown at him by Atletico Madrid fans

By Web Desk
April 28, 2018

Mesut Ozil,a German Muslim footballer , kissed a piece of bread thrown at him by Atletico Madrid fans.

The inicident happened during Arsenal's 1-1 draw with the Spaniards in the Europa League semi-final at the Emirates.

The piece of bread was thrown when he was preparing to take a corner kick.

Instead of kicking it away, he did an unexpected thing because it  is against Muslim culture to waste any food.

Mesut Ozil picked it up, kissed and placed it on his forehead. Ozil,  a third-generation Turkish-German he is a practicing Muslim and  recites from the Holy Quran before his matches. 

In one of his interviews, Ozil had said, "I always do that before I go out .

 I pray and my teammates know that they cannot talk to me during this brief period."

 He observes fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan, but he has admitted that: "Because of my job I cannot follow Ramadan properly. I do it only the few days I can, only when I have a free day. But other than that it's impossible, because you have to drink and eat a lot to stay at peak fitness." 

In May 2016, he performed Umrah.