A picture insulting Mohamed Salah before the Benin match…and Egyptian anger

Egyptian and Arab social networking sites were abuzz with anger over a photo published by a verified account with the blue mark of the Benin national team, targeting the captain of the Egyptian national team and Liverpool’s English top scorer, Mohamed Salah, and showed him in an insulting manner before the two teams faced each other in the Africa Cup of Nations final on Monday (20:00 UAE time).

The picture carried an unjustified insult to Mohamed Salah, placing him on the ground and being flogged with a whip by the Benin national team player in a provocative scene that does not befit the values ​​of sports competition or the history of a player who is considered one of the most prominent stars of world football.

The angry Egyptian fans demanded that Mohamed Salah and his companions respond on the field, perform strongly, achieve victory and advance to the quarter-finals of the African Championship, as this would be the best way to deal with the incident.

What is the truth about the picture?

It later became clear that the photo was not issued by the official account of the Benin Football Federation, but rather came from one of the Benin national team’s motivational fan accounts.