Younes Khattabi: Remember The Name

Saturday 25th August 2007

Wembley Stadium, London

(first interview)

The Challenge Cup Final returned to Wembley as St Helens beat Catalans Dragons 30-8 to retain the trophy, having beaten Huddersfield Giants the previous year. I was there to witness the event.

The showpiece event marked the Dragons’ first ever cup final appearance and quickest ever by a newly formed club. However, the result provided no shocks as the overwhelming favourites defeated the French opposition.

Batley were the team that won the first ever Challenge Cup Final and also won two of the next three. Unfortunately since then, the club have been unable to repeat their early triumphs.

The first cup final that took place at Wembley was in 1929 as Wigan overcame Dewsbury 13-2 infront of 41,500 spectators. The most recent Wembley final, until this year, was in 1999 as Leeds Rhinos thrashed London Broncos 52-16.

Younes Khattabi is a 23 year old French international whose family were originally from Morocco but later moved to France. A true gentleman and devout Muslim who prays his five daily prayers and has been to Saudi Arabia for Hajj (religious pilgrimage).
After the match, I caught up with the winger.

Assalamo-alaikum Younes. It was a disappointing result for you today but what positives can you take from the game?

“Yes it was disappointing but it has been my destiny to play in the cup final and I thank Allah for that and if I get another chance in the future than I will try and do better for the team.”

You are the first Muslim player to score a try at Wembley. How do you feel about this achievement?

“I am very pleased in doing so but I will go home in the evening, pray and thank Allah for this.”

There are a lack of Muslim players in the Rugby League as youngsters are more interested in football or cricket. How did you end up playing the game?

“I am from a small village near Marseille where they only play rugby league and so I grew up playing the sport. I have three brothers who also play but one died recently at the age of 25. On returning from Wembley this evening, my only thought will be for him and because he has died, I hope that people will think of him and do good in the future on his behalf.”

The month of Ramadan is approaching for Muslims all around the world. Will it be difficult for you to play rugby during this period?

“Ramadan starts around the 13th of September but the Super League season finishes on the 14th so it will be straight forward this year but in any case I have learnt to adapt whilst playing and fasting at the same time.”

And finally, what advice would you give to youngsters who may be interested in getting involved in the game?

“The fact that in playing rugby there is a lot of physical contact, people think it is a violent sport but in fact the game teaches you to show respect to your opponents and after the game its all very friendly.”

St Helens coach Daniel Anderson gave his view on why there may be a lack of Asians in rugby and his experiences from back home in Australia.

“I feel youngsters play the sport that the parents want them to play. I don’t think there is any distinction on who can and can’t play various sports but I myself came from a working class area in Western Sydney, attended a Catholic school that played the game and so found myself playing rugby league. I worked in development at Parramatta and knew it was hard for kids to play rugby league if their mothers, not their fathers, didn’t want them playing because they saw the tougher parts of the game with the blood and bandaging and feared for the children as you would naturally do so.”

And so why do you think there aren’t many Asians playing this sport?

“I don’t feel there is anything sinister about a lack of Asian participation; it’s just about what your parents want you to do. If the parents are happy for their children to play football and cricket then obviously they will be involved in these sports as they grow up.”

Credit must go to the RFL for putting on a wonderful show at the magnificent venue. The organisers made sure everything ran smoothly and no hiccups occurred.
Hopefully, all cup finals in the future can be as good an event as it was this year and maybe more Muslim rugby players can be part of the showcase or be as fortunate as Younes Khattabi and score a try on the hallowed turf of Wembley.

Shamoon Hafez