Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah has revived a dispute with his country’s football association and accused them of ignoring his complaints over image rights.
“It’s normal that a football federation seeks to solve the problems of its players so they can feel comfortable. But in fact, what I see is exactly the opposite,” Salah said on Twitter.
“It is not normal that my messages and my lawyer’s messages are ignored. I don’t know why all this (is happening). Do you not have time to respond to us?!”
The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said in a statement it would address a letter sent by Salah’s lawyer, Ramy Abbas, on Monday.
The dispute began in April when the Egyptian national team prominently featured Salah’s image on its plane, which was provided by official team sponsor WE. Salah has a sponsorship deal with a rival telecommunications firm, Vodafone.
At the time, Youth and Sports Minister Khaled Abdel-Aziz announced that all of Salah’s demands would be met following an emergency meeting of the football association’s board. Farag Amer, head of parliament’s Youth and Sports committee, said President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi had ordered that the dispute be quickly resolved.
Salah is due to be back in international action under new coach Javier Aguirre in September, with Egypt facing Niger in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
But his participation could be in doubt.
Salah’s relationship with the association was further strained since he was apparently used as a political symbol while the World Cup squad was based in Chechnya. In June, two people close to Salah told The Associated Press that the player has been considering retiring from international play.
Salah was said to have been particularly annoyed by a dinner banquet hosted by Ramzan Kadyrov, the ruler of the Russian region of Chechnya, in which he granted the Egyptian “honorary citizenship.”
Salah was criticized in British media after posing for photos with Kadyrov, who has repeatedly been accused of human rights abuses, including torture and the killing of political opponents. Kadyrov denies the allegations.
