Latest news with #EgyptNationalTeam
Telegraph
09-08-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Mohamed Salah calls out Uefa tribute to Palestinian footballer ‘killed in Israeli aid attack'
Uefa declined to comment when approached for a response. Salah was criticised shortly after the start of the war for not speaking out in support of Palestinians. Nearly two weeks after the conflict first erupted, the Egypt national team captain posted a video on social media in which he said: 'It is not always easy to speak in a time like this. There has been too much violence and too much heartbreak and brutality. 'The escalations in recent weeks is unbearable to witness. All lives are sacred and must be protected. The massacres need to stop, families are being torn apart.' Salah, who has contributed large financial donations towards the aid effort in Gaza, also called for 'world leaders to come together to prevent further slaughter of innocent souls'. With Gaza in the throes of a hunger crisis, the UN rights office said last month that Israeli forces had killed more than 1,300 Palestinians trying to get food aid in the territory since late May. An ex-player of the Khadamat Al-Shati club in Gaza, Obeid played 24 international matches for Palestine, the PFA said. The midfielder also played for the Al-Amari Youth Center Club in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. While living there in 2010, Obeid was among six players on the national team from Gaza who were turned back at the Jordanian border for 'security reasons' on their way to a friendly in Mauritania. An Israeli security official said at the time that the players had failed to renew special permits allowing them to play in the West Bank. 'When I heard that we would be forbidden from travelling I was very upset, because any athlete dreams of wearing his national jersey in international forums,' Obeid told AFP in 2010. 'We want to be able to travel freely with our families, just like athletes anywhere else in the world.' Israel had previously allowed the six players to travel with the team. Born in Gaza City, Obeid was married and is survived by his wife and five children. Since the start of the Gaza war, triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, 662 people from the sport and scouting sector have been killed, according to the PFA. Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,258 in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Daily Mail
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Mohamed Salah set to miss SEVEN games - including Liverpool title showdown - due to AFCON next season
Mohamed Salah could miss as many as seven games next season due to the Africa Cup of Nations. AFCON is scheduled between December 21 and January 18, during which time Liverpool have six fixtures, with a trip to Tottenham the day before it begins. Last time Egypt only made it as far as the last 16 but Salah sustained a hamstring injury at the tournament which kept him out until February 13, 2024. That meant he missed additional fixtures against Chelsea, Arsenal, and Burnley, with the Reds losing their Gunners assignment 3-1. This time, provided Egypt reach the final, Salah will miss league games against Tottenham, Wolves, Leeds, Fulham, Arsenal, and Burnley, as well as an FA Cup third-round tie. Even if Egypt crash out in the group stages - an unlikely scenario given they are one of the favourites - he would miss the first three games. The timing of AFCON and attitudes towards the tournament are often an uncomfortable subject for players, who feel pressured to devalue their international duties. Andre Onana missed the first game of the 2023-24 tournament because he agreed to play an extra game for Manchester United and experienced travel disruption. Meanwhile, Salah faced criticism from within Egypt after suffering a hamstring injury for them and flying back to Liverpool for treatment. Egypt's legendary former midfielder Ahmed Hassan claimed Salah should have stayed to support his team-mates, but the superstar's agent insisted treatment in Liverpool was the best route and that 'influencers' were piling on for clout. Liverpool fans may be particularly concerned about how they could fare against Arsenal given their close encounters last season. The pair drew 2-2 twice in the league, with Salah scoring a late equaliser in the first match at the Emirates. Liverpool have not fared terribly while missing players due to AFCON before. They missed Salah and Sadio Mane in the 2021-22 season for six games, but went undefeated during this period as Senegal reached the final to beat Egypt. Salah, 33, retains a burning ambition to win AFCON after heartbreak in the final in 2017 and 2021. Last year he said: 'I would love to win it [AFCON], absolutely I would love to win it. I just said I want everything possible but this one still not yet, it will happen somehow that's what I believe. Whatever I believe, I achieve, so it will happen. Sooner or later, it will happen.'
