ALBAWABA - Egyptian journalist Amr Adeeb has appealed to Egyptian soccer star Mohamed Salah, Liverpool’s right winger or forward, to come out and support his Palestinian “brothers” since his nickname is “the pride of Arabs” and people are waiting for him, at a time when the campaign of criticism against him has intensified because of his silence about what is happening in Gaza.
Adeeb continues: "I know that you may be angry and confused about making a decision, and all the people are waiting for you because you are the Pride of Arabs, and a holder of this title must not abandon Arabs at a time they need him. I know that you have noble feelings towards the Palestinians, and there may be a policy at Liverpool FC that prevents players from expressing their political opinions.”
He explained: "There may be instructions from those close to you, and they tell you that this will affect your image or cause a problem for you. No one can cause a problem for you, because you are strong, talented, and beloved, and no one will be angry if you stand by your family and your religion."
Amr Adeeb’s words come amid media reports that one million people unfollowed Mohamed Salah on Facebook “after a campaign due to his negative stance towards the Palestinian issue,” and the same happened in his account on “X” platform, where tens of thousands unfollowed the Egyptian star.
Youssef Hussein criticizes Mohamed Salah
On the same hand, Egyptian journalist Youssef Hussein, presenter of “Joe Show”, saw that “Mohamed Salah is the one who needs Palestine and not the other way around, because a tweet, a post, or a picture he posts in support of Gaza will not liberate Palestine, or stop the clashes,” stating that “all the championships and numbers he achieved will not make him a football legend, because legends are made outside the stadiums.”
Youssef Hussein pointed out that "players' skills and techniques are forgotten when they retire, but the players' positions are what remain; such as Maradona standing against injustice and on the side of the poor, as well as the retired Egyptian star Mohamed Aboutrika, who became a legend for his stances off the field, and so did the Ivorian Didier Drogba, who succeeded in stopping the civil war in his country.
Tweets and posts also spread on social media demanding that Mohamed Salah must break his silence and support Palestine and Gaza. On the other hand, a number of social media pioneers defended Mohamed Salah for not taking any position yet.
