Mohamed Salah reignites long standing row with Egyptian Football Association after having complaints ‘ignored’

Salah has had a testing relationship with the Egyptian Football Association since before the World Cup

Mohamed Salah has revived a long dispute with the Egyptian football authorities and accused them of ignoring his complaints about using an unauthorised image of him.

Salah said he was “insulted” that nobody consulted him over an image of him appearing on the team’s plane which was provided by the official team sponsor WE. The winger had an existing deal with rival telecoms company Vodafone and it conflicted his commercial interests as he owns his image rights.

The Liverpool winger scored Egypt’s two goals at the World Cup, but lingering tensions have cast doubt on whether he will continue to play for the national team.

Salah scored Egypt's two World Cup goals but is unhappy with the country's FA (Reuters)

“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?!” he added.

Ramy Abbas, his agent, has said “Enough is enough” as they prepare for a meeting with the Egypt Football Association to guarantee the 26-year-old’s “well-being” with the national team and to seek assurances that his image rights will not be violated again.

Salah’s relationship with the association was further strained when he was alleged to be used as a political symbol when based in Chechnya with the World Cup squad.

He is said to have been particularly unhappy about a dinner banquet hosted by Ramzan Kadyrov, the Russian head of the Chechen Republic, in which he granted the Egyptian “honorary citizenship.”

Salah was criticised for posing for photos with Kadyrov, who has repeatedly been accused of human rights abuses, including torture and the killing of political opponents, allegations Kadyrov denies.

Salah attracted criticism for meeting Ramzan Kadyrov prior to the World Cup (AP)

Egypt face Niger in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match in early September under new coach Javier Aguirre, but Salah’s involvement could be in doubt.

Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris is leading the calls for members of the Egyptian board to resign over Salah’s treatment. “Treating an Egyptian figure like Mohamed 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,” Sawiris tweeted.