Antoine Kombouaré has decided not to retain Jaouen Hadjam in the Nantes group for the reception of Reims. The Algerian international refuses to break his Ramadan fast on match day as the Canaries coach asks Muslim players.
Antoine Kombouaré does not deviate from his principles. When it comes to facing Reims for the 29th day of Ligue 1, the coach of FC Nantes, currently 14th in the championship, remains adamant about Ramadan.
The former PSG coach puts sporting performance above all else and will not appeal to players refusing to break their Ramadan period on match days.
According to RMC Sport, this is the reason why Jaouen Hadjam is not in the Canaries group this Sunday to receive Reims (3 p.m.). Antoine Kombouaré explained his position on Ramadan on Friday at a press conference: “I met them (Muslim players) We discussed. We work so that it goes well and that is often the case. there is the desire that the weekend, the players are at the top to make the team win.”
Hadjam has already played while fasting
Recruited this winter from Paris FC, Jaouen Hadjam has already played during Ramadan this season. It was during the last qualifying match for the CAN with Algeria against Niger (1-0 victory for the Fennecs). All the Algerian players had broken their fast twenty minutes before the end of the match.
This is not the first time that Antoine Kombouaré has applied this rule. When he led PSG, he showed the same firmness. Kalifa Coulibaly, former FC Nantes striker and currently free of any contract, knew Kombouaré at Paris Saint-Germain, where he did part of his training, and with the Canaries. In an interview with Ouest-Francehe confided in his situation during Ramadan: “I experienced the same situation. I try to fast all week. The coach manages us differently during the week. On match day, you cannot do because it takes too much effort.”
As a reminder, this week, the FFF published a press release to oppose the interruption of a meeting due to Ramadan.
