Full story why Mo Salah is considering quitting Egypt’s national team

Egyptian soccer star Mohamed Salah is considering quitting the Egyptian national team because he is unhappy with the way a photo up in Chechnya was handled while the team was preparing for the World Cup in Russia.

Salah became an international sensation this season after a record setting goal scoring year for Liverpool, which helped the team advance to the Champions League finals for the first time since 2007.

During the Champions League finals, Salah suffered a shoulder injury that put his availability for the World Cup in doubt.

Before the start of the World Cup, a picture of Salah walking beside Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov went viral, causing a stir with fans because Kadyrov is a dictator who has ruled Chechnya since 2004 and has reportedly stifled dissent, and subdued the separatist movement that fought the Russian army for nearly two decades.

Kadyrov made the situation worse when he declared Salah an honorary citizen of the Chechen Republic.

“Mohamed Salah is an honorary citizen of the Chechen Republic! That’s right!” the Chechen leader wrote in a social media post. “I gave Mohamed Salah a copy of the order and a pin at a celebratory dinner that I gave in honor of the Egyptian team.”

Russian state-funded news agencies ran with the story and circulated a video of Salah smiling while Kadyrov gave his speech.

According to a source, Salah feels exposed and let down by what happened and isn’t happy with being used as a propaganda tool for political gain. The Egyptian star doesn’t want to be engaged in topics beyond football or be used as a political pawn.

After news of Salah’s unhappiness became public, the Egyptian Football Federation said they were surprised Salah wanted to quit the team.

“We were always informed by Salah when he takes any decisions,” said the statement. “We spend the whole day together and he has never discussed this issue with any of the delegation’s members.

The Federation also claimed they don’t get involved in politics.

“We are here in a sports event and we are following FIFA procedures, we don’t discuss politics, and if there is any political discussion, it should be directed to FIFA.”