Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has criticised fans that booed the pausing of their match with Leeds to allow Muslim players to break their Ramadan fast.

The Premier League encounter at Elland Road was briefly halted in the 13th minute after sunset with Muslims around the world observing the Islamic holy month in which they do not eat or drink in daylight hours.

Sections of the home support appeared to boo the stoppage with a message confirming the reason for the pause shown on the big screen.

Muslim players Omar Marmoush, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rayan Cherki were part of the Manchester City side that won 1-0 to keep the pressure on Arsenal at the top of the table, with Abdukodir Khusanov on the bench.

And Guardiola suggested that the booing was deeply disappointing.

“It is a modern world, right?” Guardiola said. “[You see] what is happening in the world today. Respect religion, diversity, that is the point. The Premier League says you can have one or two minutes, you can have for the [fasting] players to do it [break their fast]. It is what it is, unfortunately.

“We took on a little bit of vitamins because [Rayan] Cherki, [Rayan] Ait-Nouri did not eat today. No more than that. The question is, can they do it or not? What is the problem?”

Kick It Out, the anti-racism group, released a statement labelling the pause itself an “agreed protocol for several years now”.

“It’s massively disappointing that some Leeds United fans booed when Manchester City’s players broke their fast during the first half of the match at Elland Road this evening,” Kick It Out said.

“This was compounded by the fact that an explanation was displayed on a big screen inside the stadium.

“Pausing the game to allow Muslim players to break their fast during Ramadan has been an agreed protocol for several years now. It’s an important and visible part of making the game welcoming for Muslim players and communities.

“But as tonight’s reaction shows, football still has a long way to go in terms of education and acceptance.”

Since the procedure was first introduced in 2021, teams with Muslim players are able to agree with the referee to find a natural pause in a match for those players to eat some food or replenish themselves with energy gels.

“They follow this religious tradition. We have good nutritionists and they adapt to what the team needs,” explained Guardiola in his pre-match briefing ahead of the Leeds game. “We cannot adapt the schedule for the Premier League [kick-off] times and I think they are used to it – they are not young and have been playing [for] many years during this period.

“For the players I think it is not new. Both Rayans, Omar and Khusa, it is not the first time for [observing] Ramadan and they know perfectly how to handle it.”