Muslim cleric wants Christian players banned from making sign of the cross

An Islamic scholar has urged FIFA not to allow Christian players celebrate in their religious way

Saudi Arabia's Mohamad Alarefe wants players banned from celebrating with a sign of the cross

He however received torrents of messages that several football stars kneel and kiss the floor in celebration of a goal

A Muslim cleric from Saudi Arabia has told FIFA to ban Christian players from making the sign of the cross while celebrating a goal.

Islamic scholar Mohamad Alarefe wants the world’s football governing body to make a law prohibiting players from tapping their stomach, chest, left shoulder then right shoulder to make a cross.

In a controversial tweet by the professor of religion at King Saud University in Riyadh, Alarefe wrote: "I've seen video clips of athletes, soccer players running, shooting and when they win they make the symbol of the cross on their chests and my question is if FIFA's rules forbid this."


Christian players celebrating
In a swift, many of his 17.4million followers replied with torrents of messages that several football stars kneel and kiss the floor in celebration of a goal, mimicking the Islamic prayer.


The cleric also received bashing from all angles with many saying his post incited division.

One of the respondents also insisted that "even the Muslim players celebrating on their own, FIFA are gathered."

The issue of religion in football has been existent for some a long time and recently, Real Madrid revealed they will not feature the traditional Christian cross on clothing sold in some Middle East countries under a new regional deal.