Mo Salah Won’t Leave Egypt’s National Team at Cameroon to Attend FIFA Celebration

Misbar’s team investigated the claim and found it fake. The Egyptian Football Association denied the alleged news that Mo Salah will leave the national team in Cameroon to attend the FIFA Best Player Ceremony.

Osama Ismail, spokesman for the Egyptian Football Association, told Egyptian media newspapers that there is no truth to rumors alleging that Mohamed Salah will be leaving the national team to attend the award ceremony for the world’s best player in Switzerland. He also added that the Egyptian Football Association is currently working to have Mo Salah virtually attend the ceremony online and that Mo Salah is still playing as part of the Egyptian national team in Cameroon-hosted Afcon 2021.

A source from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed the news that Salah is playing as part of the Egyptian national team. The source also added that it would be difficult for Salah to leave and return again. Mo won’t be able to play in the upcoming Egypt-Sudan match given COVID-19’s travel restrictions in and out of Cameroon, which are designed to ensure the safety of those participating in the African tournament.

The source concluded by hoping that Salah would win the award for the world’s best player, adding that the decision is eventually in the hands of the Egyptian national team regarding whether Salah would continue to play as part of the team or leave for the ceremony.

FIFA announced the list of nominees for the best 2021 football player award, which included Mohamed Salah, Lionel Messi, and Robert Lewandowski. The ceremony will be held virtually on Monday, Jan. 17, due to the COVID-19 measures taken to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Salah is playing as part of the Egyptian national team in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon 2021) currently taking place in Cameroon. He scored the goal of Egypt’s victory against Guinea Bissau, in the match held on Saturday, Jan. 15. Egypt is facing the Sudanese national team in its last match of the group stage next Wednesday, Jan. 19.

Translated by Ahmed N. A. Almassri