Liverpool refuse to release Salah for World Cup qualifying duty with Egypt

Liverpool, in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus, will not allow Mohamed Salah play for his country, Egypt, in their World Cup qualifiers against Angola and Gabon in September, the Egyptian Football Federation has said.

A statement released by the Egyptian FA reads: “The Egyptian Football Association continues its continuous contacts regarding the task of international players joining their national teams to participate in the World Cup qualifiers, which requires exempting them from travel restrictions imposed on them in the countries in which they play due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The Egyptian Football Association has received a letter from Liverpool FC apologising for the unavailability of its player, Mohamed Salah, to join the national team in its next camp, which includes facing Angola in Cairo and Gabon in Franceville during the first and second rounds of the African continent’s qualifiers for the World Cup.

“The English club’s letter referred to the precautionary measures applied in England to confront the outbreak of the coronavirus in the world, which puts returnees from some countries in compulsory health isolation for a period of ten days upon their return to England.

“In this letter, the English club also expressed its hope that the Egyptian Federation would understand that it was forced to do so, in the face of the player being subjected to a quarantine for this period and being affected by this physically, as well as the uncertainty of the conditions determined by English authorities.

“It is noteworthy that Liverpool FC took the same position with a number of its foreign players.”

This is not the first time that the Reds have stopped Salah from linking up with his country, with the Egyptian Football body left disappointed by a decision from the Merseyside club not to release the 29-year-old for Olympic duty.