In 3 words... Sawiris comments on a blog post by Ibrahim Issa about Mohamed Salah

- Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris commented on a blog post by Egyptian journalist Ibrahim Issa, in which he talked about Mohamed Salah, captain of the Egyptian national football team and player of the Turkish Trabzonspor club. Journalist Ibrahim Issa wrote in a post on his official account on the “X” platform, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday evening: “Egypt has 120 million citizens, and before them tens of millions for hundreds of years, it has only given birth to Mohamed Salah.”

He added, "Just like Taha Hussein is one, Umm Kulthum is one, and Naguib Mahfouz is one. Muhammad Abdel-Wahab is one, and the one who does not realize this universal truth must review himself or see a doctor."

In response to Ibrahim Issa’s post, Naguib Sawiris wrote: “And Ibrahim Issa is one.” This came after the controversy that arose over the departure of Mohamed Salah Maskar from the Egyptian national team before the match with his South Sudanese counterpart, in the second round of the qualifiers for the 2027 African Cup of Nations.

Hossam Hassan, the coach of the Egyptian national team, responded to the exclusion of Mohamed Salah from the confrontation with South Sudan, which was held on the latter’s soil, last Tuesday. Hossam Hassan (60 years old) confirmed that Salah’s absence was due to the “tartan” pitch, denying the existence of any dispute with him.

Hossam Hassan said in a press conference on Monday: “Salah was really worried about being exposed to roughness in his knee. He asked me before the Angola match, since he was in Turkey, that the doctor of his club (Trabzonspor) recommended that he not play on the artificial turf field.” He added: "Mohamed is one of the very important people in Egyptian and international football, and so I agreed to this as technical director. God willing, he will be ready in the upcoming matches."

Hossam Hassan continued: “We are keen on the safety of Mohamed Salah and all the players. We were hoping for his presence, but I have great confidence in all the players present.”