Mohamed Salah hits out at Egyptian FA over image use
|Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah has lashed out at his country’s football association, reigniting a months-old dispute with officials over the unauthorised use of his image.
In a tweet sent out on Sunday, the Liverpool star said Egyptian football authorities had ignored communication from himself and his lawyer.
“It’s normal for a football association to work towards solving its players’ problems so that they can be relaxed,” he wrote.
“But in reality, I don’t see anything exept the opposite. It’s not normal that they ignore messages from me and my lawyer. I don’t know why? Don’t they have enough time to respond to us.”
Salah’s troubles with the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) is believed to stem from the use of his image on the national team’s plane in April this year.
The Egyptian team is sponsored by telecommunications company WE, but Salah has a separate sponsorship deal with rival firm, Vodafone, which prevents him from public association with competitors.
When the issue first came to light, Salah wrote that he was “extremely” insulted by the move.
The Liverpool striker is reported to have been further angered after being made to appear alongside Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a strongman with a reputation for human rights abuses, prior to the 2018 World Cup.
Salah is said to have told teammates that he was considering quitting the national team after the appearance with Kadyrov.
The 26-year-old shot to prominence after a breakout season with Liverpool, in which he scored 44 goals, and helped the team reach its first Champions League final in a decade.