Muslim Football Players at Euro 2016

Europe’s biggest international football tournament is well and truly under way and there are a number of Muslim footballers representing their respective countries. There is a full list of the Muslim footballers at the bottom of this article, but here are five of the standout stars:

1. Mesut Ozil (Germany/Arsenal)

Özil is of Turkish descent and, as such, he is Muslim. Furthermore, Özil’s faith is quite important to him and part of his pre-game ritual, praying and reciting verses of the Qur’an before the pitch. He said:

“I always do that before I go out [on the pitch]. I pray and my teammates know that they cannot talk to me during this brief period.^1“

Prior to the European Championships, Ozil took time out to perform Umrah in the holy city of Mecca.

Mesut Ozil performing umrah in the holy city of Mecca. Arsenal to win the league next season? pic.twitter.com/xdBRGCqbtg

— The Muslim Vibe (@themuslimvibe) May 19, 2016

2. Paul Pogba (France/Juventus)

Paul Pogba is quickly becoming one of the biggest names in world football and has impressed at club and international level. He recently took to Instagram to wish his followers: ‘Bon Ramadhan to all my brothers and sisters’

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A post shared by Paul Labile Pogba (@paulpogba)

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3. Emre Can (Germany/Liverpool)

Like his fellow countryman Ozil, Emre Can can be seen praying before Liverpool games and since joining the club in 2014, has cemented his place in the starting line-up and has become a favourite amongst the Liverpool fans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tBjcrXaUDo

4. Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland/Stoke)

Xherdan Shaqiri shocked the world when the world class midfielder made the move from Inter Milan to join Premier League side Stoke. Before the World Cup, the BBC published an interesting article about Switzerland’s Muslims players which you can find here.

5. Arda Turan (Turkey/Barcelona)

Unsurprisingly the Turkey squad boasts the most Muslim footballers of any squad in this summer’s tournament, and arguably one of their biggest stars is Arda Turan, who recently signed for Barcelona in 2015 for a fee of upwards of €34 million.

Mübarek Ramazan ayı hayırlara vesile olsun inşallah…Ramadan mubarak to all muslims around the world… #Ramazan #Ramadan

— Arda Turan (@ArdaTuran) June 5, 2016

Here are all the Muslim players taking part in Euro 2016 this summer (as far as we know!). If we’ve missed any players, let us know in the comments below!

Albania

1. Armando Sadiku – Vaduz
2. Amir Rrahmani – RNK Split
3. Elseid Hysaj – Napoli
4. Naser Aliji –  Basel
5. Taulant Xhaka – Basel

Austria

1. Ramazan Ozcan – Ingolstadt

Belgium

1. Marouane Fellaini – Manchester United
2. Mousa Dembele – Tottenham

France

1. Adil Rami – Sevilla
2. Bacary Sagna – Manchester City
3. Moussa Sissoko – Newcastle
4. N’Golo Kante – Leicester
5. Paul Labile Pogba – Juventus

Germany

1. Emre Can – Liverpool
2. Mesut Ozil –  Arsenal
3. Sami Khedira –  Juventus
4. Shkodran Mustafi –  Valencia

Italy

1. Stephan El Shaarawy – Roma

Sweden

1. Erkan Zengin – Trabzonspor

Switzerland

1. Admir Mehmedi  – Bayer Leverkusen
2. Granit Xhaka –  Arsenal
3. Haris Seferovic – Eintracht Frankfurt
4. Shani Tarashaj – Everton
5. Valon Behrami – Watford
6. Xherdan Shaqiri – Stoke

Turkey

1. Ahmet Calik – Genclerbirligi
2. Arda Turan – Barcelona
3. Hakan Calhanoglu – Bayern Leverkusen
4. Harun Tekin – Bursaspor
5. Ismail Koybasi – Besiktas
6. Nuri Sahin –  Borussia Dortmund
7. Oguzhan Ozyakup – Besiktas
8. Yunus Malli –  Mainz