Egyptian professional soccer player Mohamed Salah earlier this week, expressed his opinion on Israel’s war against Hamas, after maintaining silence for over two weeks. On Thursday, former Egyptian national team assistant coach Diaa El-Sayed claimed that the Liverpool star and Egyptian national team player has contributed "over $10 million for Gaza" over the years.
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"I refuse to criticize Mohamed Salah," El-Sayed said in an interview with Egyptian media. "Everyone knows how patriotic he is and how he loves all Arabs. He has given a lot and has contributed to the people in Gaza. Those who criticize him do so only for the sake of criticism. When Salah donated, they asked him why he didn't speak out. When he finally did, they told him it was too late. He gave what he could, and will give more in the future."
Salah, the biggest soccer star in the Arab world, remained silent on the war between Israel and Hamas until last week. After he was widely criticized for not taking a stance, the Egyptian player posted a video on his X social media account to his 18.6 million followers, calling on world leaders to intervene for the sake of Gaza to prevent “further slaughter."
The video has been viewed more than 170 million times, received 1.1 million likes, and was shared by over 420,000 people. Among those who reacted to Salah's video were some of his Liverpool teammates from the past and present - including top players like Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Ryan Gravenberch and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
However, there were also those who criticized him for his words, like former Hapoel Be'er Sheva and current Maccabi Jaffa FC player John Ogu. "I have seen the video of you wanting humanity to prevailat Where were you and that energy when Hamas attacked and killed innocent Israelis? I’m sure you are aware many Israelis are kidnapped still. Your nation didn’t even accept a refugees any,” Ogu wrote to him.