Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez, currently on loan at Arsenal, has been accused by Muslims of disrespecting a holy place, after the player was pictured in shorts during a visit to Kuwait's Grand Mosque.
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Suarez, who has been holidaying in Kuwait with his girlfriend Nadia Aviles, attended the Muslim place of worship after receiving official approval from the local authorities given to non-Muslim visitors.
However, the player’s sightseeing tour triggered an uproar on social media after he was said to have violated the strict dress code required for all people entering a mosque.
Suarez donned jean shorts during his mosque visit, prompting an avalanche of angry reactions from Muslim football fans, who accused the midfielder of desecrating the mosque’s sanctity.
Attending a mosque implies full compliance with the general etiquette of Muslim society, including wearing loose-fitting attire and taking off your shoes.
“This is a mosque not a place to take selfies, this is a place where we worship Allah,” one user fumed under a picture shared on Suarez’s Instagram page.
“You should know something when you go to a mosque you should cover all your leg it is just for respecting the place,” another fan added.
“Give some respect. U are standing in a mosque,” one person wrote.
Suarez’s visit to the Grand Mosque was widely covered on Kuwait TV, prompting the director of the mosque’s administration, Al-Roumi, to comment on the “shorts controversy.”
Al-Roumi didn’t condemn the Spanish footballer for his dress-code snub, but stressed that outfit requirements can be seen next to the mosque’s entrance and are available in Arabic and English.