The referee, Matthias Jöllenbeck, interrupted play midway through the German Bundesliga match between FC Augsburg and Mainz 05 to allow Moussa Niakhaté, the Muslim center-back for Mainz, to break his fast.
The incident occurred in the 64th minute of the game. The crowd was grateful for the referee’s kind gesture. Moussa Niakhaté also gave a high-five to the referee for allowing him to break his fast.
Fans from all around the world praised the referee’s kind gesture, which received over 81,200 likes and 13,000 retweets.
Lutz Michael Fröhlich, the German Referee Committee’s director-general of communications, stated that there are no universal instructions issued to referees on stopping play in the middle of a game. It is up to each referee to decide whether or not to take a mini-break to allow the players to break their fast.
