Salah reignites feud with the Egyptian FA saying his ‘complaints are being ignored’
A dispute between Mohamed Salah and the Egyptian Football Association has been reignited after the Liverpool player accused them of ignoring his complaints about their unauthorised use of his image.
The Liverpool star tweeted: “It not unusual for any football union to seek to resolve their players’ problems until satisfaction is guaranteed.
“However, the truth of the matter is that the utter opposite is taking place. I don’t find it typical when my messages and those of my lawyer are ignored. I have no idea why this is happening. Haven’t you got enough time to reply to us?”.
Egypt’s football association responded in a statement yesterday, saying it would discuss Salah’s demands.
The dispute first erupted in April when Salah’s image was used prominently on the outside of the national team’s plane provided by official sponsor WE – Salah has a sponsorship deal with rival telecoms company Vodafone.
He tweeted at the time: ““Sorry but this is a major insult ... I was hoping the deal would be classier than this.”
Ramy Abbas, Salah’s agent, said on Sunday that they had asked for guarantees regarding Salah’s “wellbeing” while with the national team and assurances that his image rights won’t be violated again.
Abbas tweeted throughout the feud in April, keeping Egyptian fans, for whom Salah is a national hero, up to date on what was happening from their side.
Salah has endured a rollercoaster few months after getting injured in the Uefa Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in May. He regained enough fitness to play twice for Egypt at the World Cup, scoring in both games, but his nation were knocked out in the first round without gaining a point.
He was part of another major talking point during the tournament when he was pictured alongside controversial Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and was reported to have been granted an honorary Chechnyan citizenship.
Rumours of Salah planning to retire from international duty followed Egypt’s exit but he took to social media to downplay them, saying “No tweets, because no problem.”
He’s enjoyed a fine start to the Premier League season, scoring in victories against West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion as Liverpool have claimed full points from their opening three games.