Simon Jordan has stepped into the spotlight to address the controversy surrounding Leeds United fans, who were accused of exhibiting racist behavior. The incident in question occurred during a Premier League match last weekend, where Manchester City’s Muslim players were booed as they paused to break their Ramadan fast. This pause, which took place during a break in play, followed league protocol and was announced to the crowd at Elland Road. The players involved were Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush, and Rayan Ait-Nouri, who took the opportunity to replenish their energy with water and gels after the referee’s whistle at the 12th minute.

Despite the clear messaging around the stadium explaining the reason for the stoppage, a portion of the Leeds supporters responded with boos. This reaction led to another call for unity and support to echo through the stadium. It seemed the fans’ disapproval was perceived by some as rooted in racism.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Simon Jordan, the former owner of Crystal Palace, offered a different perspective. He suggested the reaction might not necessarily be racially motivated. “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,” Jordan explained. He posited that the booing might have stemmed more from a frustration with the game being interrupted, rather than any racial animus.

Jordan further questioned whether the reaction would have been the same if the fasting players had been part of the Leeds team. “If there were Muslim players in the Leeds side and they had been part of a fasting break, would they have booed them?” he queried. He argued that the assumption of racism might be too quickly drawn, suggesting that the fans’ reaction could be interpreted as an objection to the perceived advantage given to the opposing team.

‘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 the break lasted.

Host Jim White, who had earlier explained the importance of the break being taken as close to sunset as possible from the perspective of player welfare, 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 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.’

He added: ‘The Premier League said, you can do one or two minutes for the players doing it, so it (the booing) 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.