Jumu’ah mubarak! The Friday Fill-in is The Athletic Ummah’s weekly news roundup. If you have a story or athlete you’d like to pitch for it, email us at TheAthleticUmmah@gmail.com.
The Headlines
IIHF mandates neck guards in international hockey: The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has mandated the use of neck guards at all levels of its competitions, including the Olympics and men’s and women’s world championships. The IIHF said the decision was based on a recommendation of its medical committee, though the exact date the mandate goes into effect is still to be determined. The IIHF’s mandate comes just over a month after the death of Adam Johnson, whose neck was cut by a skate blade during an ice hockey game in England.
Muhammad Mokaev to fight in first UFC Saudi Arabia card: Muhammad Mokaev is one of the first mixed martial artists confirmed to fight in the UFC’s debut card in Saudi Arabia on March 2, multiple MMA sites have confirmed. The Russian-born English fighter will square off against Alex Perez in a flyweight fight. Mokaev, who is a devout Muslim, has a perfect record of 11-0-0 (1 No Contest), including five wins from five in the UFC.
Referee bodycam trial to be extended after positive results: A trial of referees wearing body cameras in English grassroots football will be extended into 2024 after “encouraging” results, the FA’s head of refereeing Daniel Meeson told BBC Radio 5 Live. The trial had been ongoing for the past seven months, and about 100 grassroots referees across England have worn the equipment. But after around 500 matches, there hasn’t been a single incident of abuse recorded. “Referees feel safer but more importantly the players and coaches are having a more enjoyable experience when they play the game,” said Meeson.
What You Might’ve Missed
As football manager Christophe Galtier gets ready to stand trial in a French court on criminal charges of race and religious discrimination on Dec. 15, more allegations are being revealed by some of the players he used to coach.
Earlier this week, French newspaper L’Équipe detailed some police testimonies from players and executives at OGC Nice, the club Galtier managed for a year between 2021 and 2022.
One of the most shocking claims was by Jean-Clair Todibo, a Muslim defender who has been at Nice since 2021. He claims Galtier pressured him to break his fast during Ramadan; and after he wore “traditional” clothing to the training centre one day, Galtier told another player that Todibo was an “extremist.”
Although Galtier, through his legal team, has continually denied these allegations, Todibo’s claims aren’t isolated. Algerian international Hicham Boudaoui and Dutch midfielder Pablo Rosario also allege that they felt pressure to break their fasts and eat on matchdays that fell within Ramadan, according to L’Équipe.
Furthermore, goalkeeper Teddy Boulhendi claims he “felt obliged” to eat on matchday for fear of being dropped from the squad.
Other evidence revealed by L’Équipe claims Galtier actively excluded Black and Muslim footballers. Longtime OGC Nice assistant manager Frédéric Gioria claims to have heard Galtier say after the signing of forward Billal Brahimi: “Another Muslim, I don’t want him, we’ve had enough”.
This builds off of a previously revealed text reportedly sent by Galtier to then-Nice director Julien Fournier, in which he said he didn’t want any more Blacks or Arabs on the team.
Not every player has allegedly been targeted by Galtier. Khéphren Thuram, a Black footballer, and Youcef Atal, a Muslim player, have both said they haven’t witnessed any discrimination, discriminatory language or behaviours.
Nevertheless, the allegations from their teammates have led to both Galtier and his son John Valvoc-Galtier being taken into police custody. These allegations also build off of a damaging email first published by the French outlet RMC Sport.
That email, sent by Fournier to Dave Brailsford, director of sport at INEOS, which owns OGC Nice, implicated Galtier over allegedly making racist and Islamophobic statements. It was leaked in April.
At the time, Galtier addressed the leak in a statement, saying he’s “deeply shocked” by the comments attributed to him.
“They hit me in the depths of my humanity,” his statement read in part. “I am a child of a low-income housing estate, raised in diversity, and the values of sharing and respect for others, whatever their origin, colour or religion.”
Galtier was summoned to court by Nice’s public prosecutor’s office in June. Next Friday, he will stand trial on charges of “moral harassment and discrimination based on membership or non-membership, true or supposed, of an ethnic group.”
Galtier has repeatedly denied these charges, and 10 days before the hearing, his lawyer told L’Équipe that Galtier is “waiting for this contradictory public debate to finally end and he will demonstrate that he clearly never discriminated against or harassed anyone.”
But if found guilty, Galtier, who now coaches in Qatar, could face up to three years in prison and a €45,000 fine.
Muslim Athletes of the Week
Baseball isn’t a sport most people associate with Muslim-majority nations. Although the sport is extremely popular in the United States, Central America and East Asia, baseball isn’t all that well-known (let alone played) in regions like the Middle East, South Asia or Africa, where other sports such as football, cricket and basketball reign supreme.
But this week, Middle Eastern baseball was put on the map when Palestine recorded its first-ever win in the Asian Baseball Championship, a continental baseball tournament contested by Asian national teams.
Palestine, which had qualified for the tournament by finishing as runners-up to Pakistan in the 2023 West Asia Baseball Cup, defeated Hong Kong 3-1 in its opening game on Dec. 4.
Palestine never trailed in the match and scored their last two runs in the final two innings to secure the win. Six different Palestinians recorded a hit during the game, including two hits by right-fielder Yunis Haleem.
But the real star of the show was right-handed pitcher Steven Mufareh. The 19-year-old, who attends the private Christian university Southern Wesleyan University, allowed just a single unearned run on five hits. He also struck out four Hong Kong batters without issuing a walk in seven innings of action.
Unfortunately, that’s been Palestine’s only win in the competition so far. They’ve since suffered double-digit, mercy rule losses to both Chinese Taipei and South Korea, as well as a 12-3 loss to Pakistan. They have one game left in the tournament, against Thailand on Dec. 9.
But those losses shouldn’t detract from what was an incredible achievement by the Palestinian national team. The national team was founded only in 2017 and wasn’t even ranked in the WBSC World Rankings when their West Asia Baseball Cup journey started in late January.
Now, despite watching fellow Palestinians in Gaza get killed and terrorized by Israeli air strikes and atrocities, they have a win in the Asian continental competition — something no other Middle Eastern nation can boast.
For these reasons, we’re recognizing the Palestinian national baseball team — no matter each player’s religious denomination — as our Athletes of the Week. Mabrook!
Headline image credit: Chinese Taipei Baseball Association
[…] In baseball, Palestine won two of five games during December’s Asian Baseball Championship. It was their first ever appearance in the continental competition, and put Palestine on the map in a sport not many associate with the Middle East. […]