The story of the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship so far has been the play of Romania, which is participating at the tournament for the first time since 1998. After finishing above Portugal in qualifying, there was a sense that this could be the finest Romanian generation in 20 years, but no one could’ve predicted the start they’d make at this U-21 Championship.

Romania began play last Tuesday with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Croatia, including goals from the highly touted Ianis Hagi and Tudor Băluță. 

Fresh off scoring his 100th career goal during France’s 4-0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying victory over Andorra, 20-year-old French sensation Kylian Mbappé boarded a plane for the United States, where he’s since been spotted at Nike’s World Headquarters, chilling with LeBron James, at game six of the NBA Finals and throwing out the first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers game.

After a minor injury that spiraled into 10 operations, an infection that ate away at his tendon and threatened foot amputation, a skin graft that resulted in part of his left arm tattoo moving to his right foot and ultimately, a spell of 636 days without football, Santi Cazorla made a remarkable comeback with Villarreal last season, appearing in 46 matches, scoring seven goals and providing 11 assists. 

Liverpool FC returned home on Sunday to present its sixth European Cup on an open-top bus parade through the city’s streets. It’s the club’s first major title since the 2006 FA Cup (no, we don’t count the 2012 League Cup), and a massive crowd turned out to greet the players and staff as they made their way around the city before finishing near Strand Street, where the River Mersey empties into Liverpool Bay.

Football is the world’s game, the beautiful game. Whether you call it football or soccer, it is the most egalitarian sport in the world, one that doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, black or white, male or female, straight or gay or anywhere on the spectrum of these categories. So it should be of no surprise there are plenty of Muslim football players all over the world.

One’s personal beliefs have no effect on how one plays the game of football. Likewise, fans should never discriminate players based on his or her religious beliefs.