Mohamed Salah has revived a months-long dispute with football authorities in his native Egypt, accusing them of ignoring his complaints about their unauthorized use of his image.
The dispute over image rights and lingering tensions over his treatment during the World Cup have cast doubt on whether Salah, the top scorer in the Premier League last season, will continue playing on the national team.
“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,” the Liverpool winger tweeted on Sunday.
“It is not normal that my messages and my lawyer’s messages are ignored. I do not know why all this (is happening)? Do you not have time to respond to us?!” he added.
Ramy Abbas, Salah’s agent, said he and his client have asked for guarantees regarding the 26-year-old’s “wellbeing” while on the national team and assurances that his image rights will not be violated again.
“Enough is enough,” Mr Abbas tweeted.
Salah’s tweet was widely shared in Egypt, where he is seen as a national hero.
Egyptian business tycoon Naguib Sawiris tweeted on Monday and called for the resignation of the football association’s board members.
“Treating an Egyptian figure like Mohammed Salah who raised his country’s name in an unprecedented way should not have been like that… Resign and relieve us after the abject failure.”
The dispute first surfaced in April when the Egyptian national team prominently featured Salah’s image on its plane, which was provided by official team sponsor WE.
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.
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