Good times and good beer flowed during Bayern Munich's Bundesliga title celebration over the weekend — much to the dismay of Franck Ribery.
Ribery, a convert to Islam who shuns alcohol, was left a soaking, sulking mess after teammates chased him down the Allianz Arena field following Bayern's 3-0 win over Augsburg and doused him with beer, despite his pre-game warning to keep the booze far away from him.
Chief on his list of new enemies was Jerome Boateng, whom Ribery reportedly vowed never to speak to again after the defender unloaded a massive pitcher of beer over his head.
"He knows that I'm Muslim. I'm pissed off," Ribery seethed out loud, according to the UK's Sun newspaper.
Stateside, teams have worked around teammates’ abhorrence to alcohol — most notably the Texas Rangers’ ginger ale celebrations after winning the American League pennant in 2010 & 2011 with recovering alcoholic Josh Hamilton on the roster — but such courtesies clearly aren’t extended across the pond.
Ribery's Islamic piety contrasts with the image of footballer who was once accused of sleeping with an underage prostitute. The midfielder faced jail time for his alleged trysts with then 16-year-old call girl Zahia Dehar back in 2008, in an embarrassing sex scandal that rocked the French national team.
The religious Ribery should be well-versed in the Koran, which urges followers to "hold to forgiveness." Hopefully he’ll do just that and turn the page with Boateng before May 25, when Bayern faces fellow German side Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final.