Football coach Jose Mourinho sparked controversy after he blamed a Muslim football player's poor performance on his fasting during Ramadan.
Mourinho, the boss of Italy’s Inter Milan team, took midfielder Sulley Muntari off the field during a match against Bari last week, saying Muntari had low energy levels as a result of his fasting.
Like other practicing Muslims, Muntari -- who's from Ghana -- has abstained from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset during the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Mourinho’s remarks provoked angry reactions among many Muslims, including the leader of Italian Muslims, Muhammad Noor Dachan, who said “Mourinho could talk a little less.”
“A player who believes in Christianity, Judaism, or Islam will have a very calm psychological disposition,” said Dachan.
And he suggested a football player’s lack of energy had very little to do with an empty stomach.
Dachan’s own words have proven to be just as controversial.
The off-pitch match between Dachan and Mourinho has sparked debate on websites around the world about who is right and who is wrong
-- Farangis Najibullah