Inverness Caley Thistle goalkeeper speaks about fasting during Ramadan as he continues to impress for club in League One after Tuesday night win against Stenhousemuir
MUSA Dibaga says he is managing to balance not being able to eat during daylight hours due to his religious beliefs while still producing top performances for Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
The Spanish goalkeeper is currently observing Ramadan where muslims fast between dawn and sunset during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.
Between February 28 until March 30, Dibaga will not be drinking or eating during daylight hours as part of his faith.
Dibaga (24) says that it is not an issue balancing his fitness and performance for Inverness during this month.
He says Ramadan is also a way of showing his thanks for the opportunity he has been given in life to play as a professional footballer.
He said: “It doesn’t really affect me that much as I have been doing it for a long time.
“Against Stenhousemuir, I got the chance to eat something before the game which helped.
“But if I am fasting during a game, I still feel good and can put in a good performance.
“During Ramadan, I am not allowed to drink water or eat anything during daylight hours.
“It doesn’t affect my performance at all, I always feel good. I don’t usually eat much before I play games.
“When the sun sets I can eat, but as I have not been eating during the day, I feel like I don’t need to eat much to get me going when it is dark.
“Before the sun rises, I will get up and have a small meal, usually something like eggs that will keep me going.
“I need to wake up earlier to eat and pray during Ramadan and then I go to sleep.
“But it is really important to me, I believe in God and I thank God for everything.”
Dibaga, who signed for Inverness in August, saved his third penalty of the season as Inverness Caledonian Thistle defeated Stenhousemuir 4-1 in Scottish League One to move up to seventh place on Tuesday night.
Previously penalty saves included the 0-0 draw against Stenhousemuir in September and the 2-1 win against Cove Rangers in November.
He said he always puts his faith in God as well as himself that he will be able to save penalties.
He said: “I have saved three penalties out of four, but one of those penalties was in the Scottish Cup, so I have a 100 per cent record in the league.
“I can’t tell you what my secret it, but I believe in God always. I trust myself and pick a side and go there, watch how their feet lifts off and try and go there.”
Inverness moved up to seventh place in League One after their win on Tuesday night. A win against Annan Athletic on Saturday and if other results go their way, could move Inverness to within five points of the promotion play-offs with seven games left.
Dibaga says the club are only looking up and will see how far their results can take them this season.
He said: “It was a great performance from the team, we need to do a good performance every games. I made some good saves as I always look to help the team as much as I can.
He said: “We always look up and don’t look down anymore.
“We have got out of the relegation spots and we just keep looking up and if we can reach the play-offs that would be amazing.
“To score in the final seconds and get out of the relegation zone was a great feeling.
“We knew Stenhousemuir was an important game and we were looking for more points to get away from the relegation zone and we did that today.
“We have had a lot of good performances this season, but the win against Stenhousemuir was one where we managed to put the goals away. But we have been performing good in other games where we haven’t put goals away. “
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