EGYPT: Mo Salah has become an icon in Egypt after playing for English Premier League club Liverpool and helping the Jurgen Klopp side win the Champions League, however, with fame comes a lot of responsibility too.
The left-footed star has become a part of a controversy he had no part in, after British-Egyptian model Merhan Keller has claimed that striker’s comments have closed the doors for her return to Egypt
The controversy erupted when Egyptian midfielder Amr Warda was sidelined by Egypt’s Football Association when a number of women posted screenshots and testimonies on social media of his alleged lewd comments.
Warda apologised to his teammates and family in a video posted on Facebook, but pointedly did not mention any of his accusers.
Salah, alongside other teammates, voiced their opinion in favour of Warda, saying he deserved ‘a second chance’.
However, Keller believes Salah’s intervention has tilted the case in favour of Warda.
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“This person [Salah] is god in Egypt, literally,” she told the Sunday Mirror. “He can do no wrong. This makes me in jeopardy. I cannot go to my country right now if I want to visit my family. People will attack me in the streets. You know how football fans are — ours are 100 times worse.
“What is shocking in the Mohamed Salah situation is that it had absolutely nothing to do with him.”
Salah is currently playing the African Cup of Nations with hosts Egypt.