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The Egypt Football Association (EFA) have hit back at Mohamed Salah’s agent following critical comments made by the Egypt international and his agent.
The Liverpool forward released a statement on Sunday where he questioned why the EFA continue to ignore his messages and that of his lawyer.
Although the 26-year-old didn’t reveal details about the nature of the dispute with the EFA, his agent Ramy Abbas confirmed in a tweet that the issue is related to Salah’s image rights, which emerged ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Only few hours after Salah’s critical tweet, Egypt’s FA issued a statement where they said they haven’t received any communication from any of the national team players including Salah. They, however, confirmed they were contacted by the player’s agent.
The EFA explained that Abbas sent an email to the personal email address of Hany Abou-Rida, the EFA chairman, on August 11, before being advised on August 16 that any requests should be communicated through the EFA’s official email address. According to the EFA, they have received a formal communication from Abbas on August 23.
“After receiving his letter, the EFA informed him [Abbas] that the board will hold a meeting after Eid holidays, which is the meeting that we announced will take place on Monday, where we will discuss these requests and announce our response,” the statement read.
The EFA, however, added that Abbas’ letter contained ‘inappropriate’ language, that’s difficult to accept. “It’s unprecedented for an agent to demand the resignation of a football association board in case his demands, which he described as nonnegotiable, weren’t met,” the statement added.
The EFA added that they will assess these requests and respond accordingly, in order to ‘preserve the unity of the national team and avoid treating any of the players differently’.
Salah is due to return to international action next month when Egypt face Niger in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on September 8. This will mark the Pharaohs’ first official game under new coach Javier Aguirre.
