dpMohamed Salah is back at the centre of the artificial turf row, and the irony is hard to miss. Egypt’s captain, now the star man at Trabzonspor, has been named in his club’s squad for tomorrow’s meeting with Finnish side KuPS in the first round of the UEFA Conference League league phase.
Trabzonspor confirmed the travelling party on their social media accounts on Wednesday, Salah included, despite the game being staged on an artificial pitch. Those are precisely the conditions cited when the Egypt skipper was left out of the trip to South Sudan in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying last September.
On 26 September, the Egyptian Football Association announced Salah would miss the journey to South Sudan to avoid the risk of injury on an artificial turf surface.
According to the association, the call came in coordination with the technical staff led by Hossam Hassan, the aim being to protect the player’s wellbeing. Hassan later confirmed that Salah had raised the subject of the surface with him before the Angola match, and that the pair agreed he would sit out against South Sudan.
Selection does not guarantee minutes, though. Salah’s involvement against KuPS remains uncertain, with no certainty the coach will use him from the start or off the bench.
One question hangs over the whole affair. If artificial turf is dangerous enough to warrant resting Salah on international duty, what has changed to allow him into a club squad for a game on exactly the same stuff?
