The newspaper revealed that a number of players from the France under-21 team wanted to organize a strike for the national team, as they had been prevented from fasting during the national team camp in the month of Ramadan.
She pointed out that the French Football Federation had used first-team captain Kylian Mbappe to mediate in the dispute to prevent the strike from taking place.
Mbappé denied
But the French star, Paris Saint-Germain, denied his interference, and said in a tweet on his personal account, in which he strongly attacked “L’Equipe”.
Mbappe said in the tweet, “Avoid putting my name in your articles and check your sources, please,” apparently directing his speech to the newspaper.
Mbappe didn’t release any more details than that, only denying reports that sparked controversy on social media platforms on Thursday.
Fasting crisis
• The controversy erupted during the month of Ramadan in France, due to the strict measures that football institutions followed with players on an empty stomach, unlike the rest of European countries.
• The manager of French club Nantes banned Algerian international Joan Hajjam from his side’s matches last April due to the player’s insistence on fasting on match day.
• At the time, coach Antoine Coampare was warning his players against fasting on match days because of its effect on their performance, which sparked great controversy in France.
• The French Football Federation has asked French League referees not to interrupt matches, to allow fasting players to break their fast.
• This decision was different from the ‘English decision’, which supported stopping games to allow fasting players to break their fast.
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