Mido questions Egypt’s handling of Salah and Abdelmonem camp exits

Former Egypt international Mido has criticised the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) over the decisions that allowed Mohamed Salah and Mohamed Abdelmonem to leave the national team camp.

Salah featured in Egypt’s goalless draw with Angola but was subsequently left out of the squad for the match against South Sudan, with the condition of the pitch cited as a factor.

Abdelmonem has also departed the camp after an agreement was reached with his club, French Ligue 1 side OGC Nice.

The developments have frustrated former Egypt and Tottenham Hotspur forward Mido, who questioned the consistency of the decisions surrounding the two players.

“Abdelmonem is the best Egyptian defender currently playing in a very strong league, Ligue 1; there should be clarification on his situation if he is excluded,” Mido wrote on X.

He then questioned why a similar decision had not been taken with Salah if the issue was related to playing on an artificial surface.

“Why didn’t he take the same action with Mohamed Salah? If the reason is his refusal and his club’s refusal to play on artificial turf?” Mido added.

The former striker also raised wider questions about the relationship between Egypt coach Hossam Hassan and the country’s leading players.

“The most important question is if there is a problem between the coach and a large number of players, is the coach the reason or the players?” he said.

“And do we help our professional players or do we kill them?”

Meanwhile, Egypt lost the game 1-0 against South Africa at Cairo International Stadium.