Tunisia Goalie Fakes Injury To Break Ramadan Fast
... and not to get an opponent booked.
Simulation, or 'tw*tty dives' to most people, is something of a canker on modern day football. Not a week goes by without some devious wag trying to pull the wool over the ref's eyes with a staged tumble to make Buster Keaton proud.
This past weekend, Tunisia's goalkeeper Mouez Hassen introduced a whole new twist on the scourge of the sport.
Whilst trailing 2-1 to European champs Portugal, Hassen suddenly hit the deck in the 58th minute. Coincidentally, it was perfectly timed with sundown, allowing his teammates - fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan - to receive much needed refreshments on the sidelines.
The gambit paid dividends. Just six minutes after the keeper's tilt at an Olivier award, the Eagles of Carthage bounced back to level the scores at two apiece. Days later, Hassen repeated the trick in a friendly against Turkey, taking a grassy nap just as the sun sneaked below the horizon.
After the games, Hassen jokingly tweeted:
Translation: "I was hurt, brother!"
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims are obliged to forego food, drink, and physical intimacy between the hours of sunrise and sunset. Fasting is intended to teach self-discipline, restraint, and generosity. It also serves as a reminder of the sufferings of the poor, and in particular those who go without food daily through no choice of their own.
Ramadan concludes with a huge celebration known as Eid-ul-Fitr, scheduled this year for 14 June - four days before Tunisia's opening World Cup match against England.
Interestingly, this isn't the first time a Tunisian goalkeeper has been caught faking an injury on the pitch. In 2001, stopper Chokri el-Ouaer was banned for a year after it turned out he bladed his forehead in an attempt to have a match between his team Esperance and Ghana's Hearts of Oak abandoned. Cancellation would have seen the Tunisian team triumph in the African Champions League final on aggregate. Instead the game continued, and the 'injured' el-Ouaer looked on as his replacement shipped three goals. Worth a try.