MADRID – A German Muslim player in Valencia, a club in the Spanish league, failed to remove a bottle of beer placed in front of him in a press conference for promotional purposes.

“I don’t want the beer,” Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi said as he removed the beer bottle placed on the table in front of him, Bleacher Report reported.

The bottle was placed in front of Mustafi as he sat down to take part in a press conference ahead of his side’s La Liga clash with Malaga.

As a Muslim, he is prohibited from drinking or endorsing alcohol.

Yet, his objections were disregarded after the press officer put the bottle back, saying it had to be there.

Islam takes an uncompromising stand in prohibiting intoxicants. It forbids Muslims from drinking or even selling alcohol.

The general rule in Islam is that any beverage that gets people intoxicated when taken is unlawful, both in small and large quantities, whether it is alcohol, drugs, fermented raisin drink or something else.

Born on April 1992, Mustafi is a German professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Spanish club Valencia CF and the Germany national team.

He began his career in the youth ranks of Hamburger SV and English club Everton, where he made one substitute appearance in two-and-a-half-years before leaving to Sampdoria in January 2012. He signed a five-year deal at Valencia in August 2014.

Mustafi made his full international debut against Poland on 13 May 2014, and was part of the German team which won the 2014 FIFA World Cup.