On Sunday evening, the Egyptian Football Association honored Liverpool star Mohamed Salah ahead of the Pharaohs’ match against his Guinean counterpart and received a shield bearing his image.
Following the distribution of photos of the award, a number of social media pioneers explained that the design of the shield received by Salah was reproduced from its counterpart presented by the Genius program, which the winners receive from students. Social media users compared the two shields to prove their point.
Videos circulated by the link site pioneers show that the shield designed by the Football Association is just a modified version of the program’s shield, with a slight difference in the placement of the “Egyptian pharaoh” image on the shield. Mohamed Salah’s shield drew widespread criticism from social media users as the account commented, “Inspired!! It’s him and they put a picture of Salah on him, I swear to God we won’t advance any field.” In the same vein, another person named “Aya Magdi” commented, “What was the inspiration for this, they changed the name of the program and put photo of Salah? Another account commented: “What is this stolen inspiration to you?” while another commented sarcastically: “And Salah is not an Egyptian genius in English lands, neither this nor that.” Another wrote: “Phosphorus green scarf costs 27 Egyptian pounds.” and sports journalist Ibrahim Fajek ridiculed by saying, “When you think your birthday is tomorrow night and the stores are full of convoys.”
The hastily made “shield” was also criticized, as kind people on the communication sites continued to say that it was “stolen” from the store. The Football Association handed over the shield to the captain of the first national football team in the presence of the Minister of Youth and Sports, Dr. Ashraf Sobha, on the sidelines of the team’s match against Guinea, which ended in victory for Egypt. over his Guinean counterpart, scoring a goal from Mohamed Mustafa in the 87th minute.
The Football Association also sought to pay tribute to the Egyptian pharaoh for the accomplishments he has achieved in recent times, most recently being the top scorer in the English Premier League for the third time in its history. And Ashraf Sobhi, Egypt’s sports minister, confirmed in a phone interview with Amr Adib that what happened to Salah was a moral honor. He added: “The honor is of a moral nature and it is an affirmation of love and appreciation for the person of Mohamed Salah, adding that the Football Association received permission from the Confederation of African Football to honor Mohamed Salah at the Cairo stadium in front of Sobhi pointed out: “The necklace that was awarded to Mohamed Salah; It was made in an Egyptian factory and its value is very important for an Egyptian international star.
