Simon Jordan DEFENDS Leeds fans accused of racism for booing when Premier League game was stopped for Muslim players to break Ramadan fast - and offers alternative explanation

Simon Jordan appeared to defend Leeds fans accused of racism after they booed Manchester City 's Muslim players breaking their Ramadan fast during a break in play in their Premier League clash last weekend.

Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush, and Rayan Ait-Nouri all broke their fast after referee Peter Bankes whistled on the 12th minute of play in line with league protocol, with messages explaining why the stoppage was taking place displayed around Elland Road.

Despite this, a number of Leeds fans loudly booed the pause for players to take on water and energy gels , which prompted another message calling for unity and support.

While the supporters' behaviour has been roundly criticised however, Jordan wondered whether confusion over whether Man City might be able to gain an advantage with the stoppage could have prompted the discord, rather than racism.

'The default setting will be that it is centred on discrimination and racism rather than intolerance of the game being stopped by what's considered to be the opposition,' the former Crystal Palace owner said on talkSPORT.

'If there were Muslim players in the Leeds side and they had been part of a fasting break, would they have booed them?

Simon Jordan suggested that Leeds fans had not understood why there was a stop in play when they booed Man City players breaking their fast

Omar Marmoush (pictured) Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rayan Cherki are all fasting during Ramadan

'There's a conclusion drawn by the usual suspects that this is racism and can only be that. Rather than an intolerance to something, the opposition might be benefiting from rather than the home side.'

'So that might form part of the motivation. Only in the minds of the Leeds fans that booed do we know the motivation, and all the 'usual suspects' will seek to say, 'A-ha, alive and kicking. we've got a big problem over here'.

'And it might be that, and it might be something different.'

Jordan added: 'The balancing act in my mind - is there a necessity to break a game? Can we not wait until half-time? If these players are fit enough to start a game. I understand the dynamics of not disrespecting any religion -'.

Earlier in the programme, former Arsenal star Emmanuel Petit had spoken of his disgust at the behaviour of the fans who booed, and he was quick to query Jordan on 'how long' breaking the fast lasted in response.

Host Jim White, who had earlier explained the importance of the break being taken as close to sunset as possible from a player welfare perspective, clarified that the pause had been 'about 30 seconds'.

'VAR interruptions last six or seven minutes sometimes,' Petit added.

Jordan clarified that he 'personally (does not) agree with the booing side of things'.

Leeds manager Daniel Farke had similarly suggested after the final whistle that he thought the supporters might have been mistaken.

Pep Guardiola had spoken to his players after goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma affected an injury to pause the game in a widely criticised move during the reverse fixture, with Farke questioning whether fans had thought the same was happening again after Leeds' bright start.

'If it was disrespectful because of the break, then yes we have to say we have to learn from it,' Farke said. 'I'm not sure that everyone was aware - we had the topic of Pep bringing players in to give a team talk - I think supporters thought it was this.

'I don't think booing was for this (Ramadan). If it was from some people about this, then that's not acceptable.'

The Premier League confirmed earlier this month that Ramadan breaks would be used in matches again this season, as they have since 2021, to allow players to break their fast during the holy month, which runs from February 17 to March 19.

Given sunset in the UK ranges from around 5PM to 6.30PM during this period, the only games that are affected are 5.30PM kick-offs on a Saturday and the 4.30PM kick-off on a Sunday.

The protocol for these breaks sees teams and match officials discuss pre-match whether a pause is required, before they settle on an approximate time when the stoppage will take place.

A message was displayed on the screens to explain the stoppage in play at Elland Road

City requested the introduction of a break on Friday, which Leeds accommodated and confirmed 24 hours ahead of the meeting.

After the final whistle, Guardiola spoke of his disappointment with the booing calling on supporters to 'respect the religion, respect the diversity.

'The Premier League said, you can do one or two minutes for the players doing it, so - it is what it is, unfortunately.'

'I don't like it,' Petit stressed. 'In fact, I hate it. First of all it's the protocol but more important than that is the political environment we are living in this world. I totally agree with what Pep said.

'We need more love in this world. There is war everywhere, there is racism coming from everywhere now and I'm quite scared about what will happen in the future. This is not the kind of message that is helpful.'

The next match to be impacted by a need for a stoppage in play for breaking the Ramadan fast will be Chelsea's meeting with Wrexham in the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon, with the match kicking off at 5.45pm.