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This post was originally published on Karim Zidan’s Sports Politika Substack.
Mo Salah’s initial silence on Gaza was deafening
Amidst the dilapidated, misshapen buildings that characterize much of downtown Cairo lies a mural of Mohamed Salah that was once a place of pilgrimage.
Nestled alongside cultural icons such as the divine diva Umm Kulthum and novelist Naguib Mahfouz, the Egyptian footballer’s face looks out over a street café where locals gathered to watch Salah’s Liverpool games. It was a testament to Salah’s unmatched popularity across the Arab world, where he has bestowed with many titles, including the Prince of Egypt, the King of Egypt, the Fourth Pyramid, and the Pride of the Arabs.
Yet in the wake of Oct. 7 and Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza, Salah’s popularity has taken a significant hit.
At first, this was due to the length of time that Salah took to comment on the war and the ensuing humanitarian crisis. For nearly 10 days, Salah remained silent while more than 3000 Palestinians were killed in the besieged strip.
Social media took aim at the Egyptian star. Some shamed Salah for his silence, while others accused him of being more “British than Egyptian.” Critics pointed to other Europe-based Egyptian players—Mahmoud Trezeguet, Ahmed Hassan Kouka, and Sam Morsy—who had expressed solidarity with Gaza. Salah, they argued, had shown his true colours.
“It’s much nicer, and more beneficial, to count your millions than to count dead Palestinian bodies,” read one comment on Instagram.
Salah’s silence was even the topic of debate on Egyptian television, including on the popular Egyptian talk show Al Hekaya (The Story) hosted by Amr Adeeb.
“Everyone sees you as the Pride of the Arabs and to be the Pride of the Arabs you must not abandon the Arabs when they need you the most,” Mr Adeeb said in a segment in October.
“There is still time. To arrive late is better than not to arrive at all. This is the time to speak up,” he continued.
Salah: More Than A Footballer
Some of that public pressure seemed to die down on Oct. 16 when the Egyptian Red Crescent announced that the Liverpool star had made a “significant donation” to provide aid to the people of Gaza.
The next day, Mo Salah posted a short video on his social media platforms calling for humanitarian aid to be sent to Gaza.
“It’s not always easy to speak in times like this. There has been too much violence and too much heartbreaking brutality,” the 31-year-old forward said in the video message delivered straight to the camera. “The escalations in recent weeks have been unbearable to witness. All lives are sacred and must be protected. The massacres need to stop, families are being torn apart.
“Humanity must prevail,” he concluded.
Even then, Salah received some backlash from those who felt his message was “too neutral” and should have been more critical of Israel’s actions. On Twitter, one user suggested Salah was participating in “neutral activism” while another replied to Salah’s video saying “your sweet non-condemning statement wronged us.”
As the most famous Arab and Muslim athlete in the world, Salah was a symbol of hope and a source of pride for a country that had precious little to celebrate over the past decade. He led Egypt to its first World Cup appearance in 28 years and ascended to legend status with Liverpool, contributing to the team’s victories in the Premier League and Champions League and scoring over 200 goals in the process.
Nevertheless, skepticism towards Salah surfaced during the 2019 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament. His teammate Amr Warda faced accusations of sexual harassment, resulting in his removal from the national team and sparking a countrywide scandal. Salah responded by defending his teammate on social media, saying that “everyone deserves a second chance.” Warda was reinstated to the team shortly following Salah’s statement.
Four years on, Salah is now confronted with a broader array of critics questioning whether he genuinely embodies the pride of the Arabs.
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Sports Politika is the home of Karim Zidan’s original content that focuses on the intersections between sports and politics. At Sports Politika, you can find Zidan covering topics you may be familiar with from the world of MMA and boxing. However, Sports Politika also goes beyond the ring and the cage, covering stories of sportswashing across the world.
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