‘Mohamed Salah MUST go with Egypt to AFCON’: Liverpool are warned their star man could miss up to THREE months of next season if the football calendar changes by ex-Tottenham striker Mido
- Egypt are involved in two tournaments in 2021 – the AFCON and the Olympics
- Mohamed Salah is a crucial player for the nation and will likely travel to both
- If the calendar changes then it could clash with Liverpool’s campaign
Liverpool have been warned that Mohamed Salah could miss three months of next season if the calendar is changed by former Spurs star Mido.
The winger is a crucial player for Egypt and almost guaranteed to miss a chunk of action for his club in January due to the African Cup of Nations tournament in Cameroon.
Salah is also likely to be called up for the Tokyo Olympics, which have been moved to July and August next year amid the coronavirus crisis.
Mohamed Salah is set to be involved in a number of tournaments next calendar year with Egypt
Mido has warned that Liverpool won’t be able to stop Salah going on international duty
And there is also a chance the 2020-21 Premier League season could be shifted as the current campaign is not likely to be finished until late in the summer.
That means he could miss a large chunk of next season – and Mido says the pull of the Pharaohs means Liverpool will not be able to stand in his way.
The former Spurs man told the Sun: ‘Salah must go with Egypt to AFCON — and Liverpool don’t have the right to say no.
‘These are Fifa rules and they can’t prevent Salah from joining the national team for any reason. If Salah doesn’t want to go, then this is the only reason for not seeing him.
The former Spurs man said he was happy the 2019 AFCON had been played in the summer
‘All African players had this problem when we were in England. So I was happy when the 2019 AFCON was played in the summer.
‘This kept the African stars away from any problem with their clubs but the Confederation of African Football decided to go back to the old schedule.
‘Salah is very important, of course, to our senior national team and to the Olympic team.
Mido admitted he hoped the 2020-21 season would be finished before the Olympic Games
‘A player with his experience and leadership… he can make the difference.
‘He will be one of the most important players in the tournament, not only for Egypt. We now know the Olympics will be held in the summer of 2021.
‘So hopefully things will go normally and the season will be finished by then and he will have the chance to play with the Olympic team.’