European soccer association agrees to remove beer bottles from press conferences to avoid offending Muslims

Paul Pogba

Jihad Watch : The Union of European Football Associations is the administrative body for soccer in Europe. Euro 2020 is the European soccer championship.

A hadith depicts Muhammad saying: “Verily Allah, the Exalted, has forbidden wine. So who hears this verse and he has anything of it with him, he should neither drink it nor sell it.” (Sahih Muslim 3835) The principle is always and everywhere the same: in Muslim countries, one should conform one’s behavior to Muslim sensibilities.

In non-Muslim countries, one should conform one’s behavior to Muslim sensibilities. “Euro 2020: in order not to upset Muslim players, UEFA agrees to remove Heineken bottles from press conferences,” Valeurs Actuelles, June 25, 2021 (thanks to Medforth):

It was Paul Pogba who, on June 16, initiated the controversy. Arriving at a press conference, organized as part of Euro 2020, the French midfielder took care to remove a bottle of Heineken beer from the table where all the sponsors of the competition were present. A gesture paralleling that of Cristiano Ronaldo, who, a few days before, had withdrawn two bottles of Coca-Cola from in front of him, proclaiming with a wave of the hand that he preferred water. However, Le Parisien reports that Heineken has spent more than 40 million euros to be able to feature its logo and name throughout Euro 2020. There is no doubt that Paul Pogba’s gesture will therefore have irritated Heineken and UEFA, prompting the European football body to legislate. It is therefore now official, as of Thursday, June 24: Muslim players will now have the option of signaling to UEFA, before a press conference, that they do not wish to see a bottle of beer in front of their microphones.

An exceptional breach of the rules

Originally, however, UEFA did not allow players to interfere with sponsorship contracts entered into by its sales department. Nevertheless, in a competition already marked by political conflicts – anti-racism, LGBT activism, Russian-Ukrainian tensions, etc. – the European football body has reportedly decided to make an exception. Martin Kallen, director of the Euro, evokes, according to Le Parisien, an “understanding” when it comes to a gesture linked to a “religious belief.” An inconsistency for many personalities, while during the controversy over LGBT rights in Hungary, UEFA disengaged by emphasizing “its political and religious neutrality.” After all, that’s not the only quirk surrounding this hoppy debate.

In this case, indeed, everyone seems to be on purpose ignoring that the Heineken beer put forward to sponsor the Euro … is a beer containing 0% alcohol.