Mohamed Salah: Liverpool star refused to drink water due to fasting | OneFootball

Mohamed Salah refused to drink a bottle of water after being substituted during Liverpool's 4-1 defeat to Manchester City.

But it wasn't because he was having a strop after being taken off but because he was observing Ramadan and fasting.

Many Muslims, including Salah, fast during Ramadan meaning they will abstain from eating or drinking during daylight hours from March 22 until April 21.

Once the sun has set, they then break this fast.

Match officials in England have been asked to allow players to break their fast during evening matches. They've been told to identify players who may need to break their fast during matches and agree on a rough time for this to happen.

During a natural pause in play, officials can enable players to take on liquids, energy gels or supplements if they've been fasting.

There was no opportunity for Salah to break his fast during Liverpool's Saturday lunchtime kickoff against Man City.

He did, however, break the deadlock.

Liverpool caught City on the break with Diogo Jota setting up Salah to curl the ball past Ederson.

It was as good as it got for Salah and Liverpool, though.

Ten minutes later, City were level through Julian Alvarez.

Then, the second half belonged to Pep Guardiola's with goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish sealing a convincing victory.

By the time Grealish had made it 4-1, though, Salah was sitting on the substitutes bench.

Other than his goal, it was a very quiet performance from the Egyptian.

After being substituted as part of a quartet of changes from Jurgen Klopp, Salah slumped into his seat on Liverpool bench.

He was then given a water bottle by a member of the Liverpool staff.

However, due to his Ramadan fasting, Salah placed the bottle on the floor and didn't take a sip.

Salah is a devout Muslim

Salah is a devout Muslim and it's believed he's always observed Ramadan.

While fasting is obligatory for adult Muslims, there are exceptions "suffering from illness, travelling, elderly, pregnant, breastfeeding, menstruating or chronically ill are exempt. Athletes are also exempt from fasting during events."

Ahead of the 2019 Champions League final against Real Madrid, it was suggested Salah broke his fast on the day of the game.

“We were in Marbella and the nutritionist established a work plan,” Ruben Pons told Spanish radio station Cadena SER. “Tomorrow and the day of the match he won’t, so it’s not going to affect him.”