The Egyptian Football Association has denied rumours that Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has refused to be substituted for an international match.
The 31-year-old goalkeeper was active throughout the recent international break, featuring for the Pharaohs in their World Cup qualifiers against Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau.
Salah scored a brilliant goal in the latter game to earn a 1-1 draw, but he was soon at the centre of substitution mayhem: Mostafa Fati and Naser Maher were both ready to come on as added time approached, but only Maher took to the pitch. There was speculation that Fati was meant to replace Salah, but Salah reportedly refused to be substituted and Fati was sent back to the bench.
However, an official statement put those rumours to rest, clarifying that “there is absolutely no truth to the rumours that Mohamed Salah refused to leave the pitch. Salah was never intended to be substituted in the first place. Hossam Hassan was content to bring on only Naser Maher.”
This is not the first time Salah has been involved in controversy over his national team appearances, having been left out of the national team in March as he continued to recover from a hamstring injury.
EFA board member Walid El Attar provided further details about Salah’s injury and the exchanges with Liverpool, saying: “There has been communication between Liverpool, the EFA and Mohamed Salah. There has also been an exchange of official documentation outlining the full extent of Salah’s injury.”
“Official communication is paramount and this has taken place between Liverpool and the EFA. Personally, I have spoken to Mohamed Salah by phone. The general idea is that Salah should return to the pitch gradually, which has already been done at Liverpool. He requires constant monitoring by the medical team.”
“Salah will not take part in any upcoming Egypt training camps but will participate as normal during the international break in June, which will be the most crucial period as they play in the World Cup qualifiers. Mohamed Salah is not in any way opposed to joining the Egyptian national team at any time. On the contrary, Salah would love to play for Egypt. Everyone at the EFA and the Egyptian national team aims to promote the interests of the national team as well as Mohamed Salah.”
The update comes after Salah was forced to withdraw early from Egypt’s national team during the Africa Cup of Nations in January due to injury.