Premier League officials asked to pause games until April 21 – could impact West Ham v Newcastle United

The holy period of Ramadan starts today (Wednesday, March 22) and will end on the evening of Friday, April 21. During that time, a number of Muslim players in the Premier League will not consume any food or drink during daylight hours as part of their fast.

According to Sky Sports, officials in England’s top four divisions have been asked to pause night matches and allow fasting players to drink and consume energy gels and supplements. The pause would be similar to water breaks that take place during a natural stoppage when matches are played in extreme heat.

Several matches are set to be impacted as a result with Newcastle United’s rearranged trip to West Ham United on April 5 (8pm kick-off) among those that could potentially be paused. While The Magpies have no practicing Muslims in their first-team squad, West Ham have a few including Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd and Said Benrahma.

Pauses to Premier League matches to allow Muslim players observing Ramadan to break their fast have happened on several occasions in the past. Benrahma has previously broken his fast after West Ham’s evening match at Burnley in 2021 was paused.

Last season, a match between Burnley and Southampton was paused briefly in the first half to allow Saints players Mohamed Elyounoussi and Yan Valery to break their fast during Ramadan. The dates of Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, are determined by the lunar cycle.