Jaouen Hadjam out of Nantes squad after refusing to break Ramadan fast

Algerian international and Nantes left-back Jaouen Hadjam (20) is out of the squad that will host Will Still’s Reims for Ligue 1 gameweek 29 on Sunday. Les Canaris posted their squad last night with Hadjam a notable absentee. It has transpired since that Nantes head coach Antoine Kombouaré has pulled Hadjam ouf of the squad because the latter is fasting for Ramadan, according to Ouest-France. The outlet reports that the Nantes’ boss had asked the former Paris FC player to eat and drink on matchday. However, the former Paris FC man refused, leading Kombouaré to keep him out of the team. Reportedly, Hadjam has accepted to break his fast for away games, but not home fixtures.

📋 𝗟𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲́ par Coach Kombouaré. #fcnsdr pic.twitter.com/CWQRKfvjDg

— FC Nantes (@FCNantes) April 1, 2023

Kombouaré’s stance on Muslim players during the Islamic holy month is known. In 2009, when he was PSG’s head coach. He said the following in a press conference. “I have a very simple rule. There’s no problem with players fasting for Ramadan during the week. But on matchday, it is forbidden. Those who do Ramadan on a gameday will stay at home. I’m not going to mess with players’ health, or put their teammates in trouble. When you don’t eat all day, it becomes complicated.“

Ouest-France adds that the other Muslim players in the Nantes’ squad had agreed to break their fast today. With Hadjam out of the squad and Quentin Merlin on a path to recovery, Les Canaris have no senior left-backs for today’s game against Reims. Earlier in the week, the French FA confirmed, in an email sent out to officials, that games would not be paused in the country to allow Muslim players to break their fast.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval