Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, the Trabzonspor player, is facing a legal dispute in Egypt, after the New Cairo Court issued a ruling obliging him to appear before it in person during next September to take the decisive oath in a case relating to a claim for legal fees.
The relevant civil chamber of the New Cairo Court of First Instance has set a hearing for 6 September 2026 for Salah to appear in person, in case number 7826 of 2025 full civil, brought by the lawyer Amr Farag Allah Morsi Abdel Tawab.
At the heart of the case is the lawyer's demand that Salah pay financial dues. He says these represent fees for legal, administrative and advisory work, plus court files, that he handled on the player's behalf over the past years.
Why is the court requesting Mohamed Salah's attendance?
The court wants Salah to take the "decisive oath" over his denial that the lawyer carried out the legal and administrative work referred to in the statement of claim. His denial also extends to the existence of any sums or fees owed for that work.
Should Salah fail to appear to take the oath, or refuse to take it without legal justification, he may be considered as "having declined the oath", with the resulting legal effects prescribed in this case.
Ruling on the expenses and legal fees has been postponed by the court until the dispute is finally settled.
It all goes back to a lawsuit the lawyer brought in September 2025, demanding the value of fees he said were due to him in return for legal, administrative and advisory work and court files he undertook on Salah's behalf.
According to the documents submitted to the court, the lawyer relied on a general official power of attorney in cases issued in 2012, which he said granted him the authority to carry out procedures and legal work relating to Salah.
That power of attorney remained in place until August 2025, when he was notified of his removal from representing the player.
Compensation was another of the lawyer's demands, covering material and moral damages he said he suffered as a result of not receiving his dues, along with the expenses he bore while handling the work in dispute.
What is the decisive oath?
The decisive oath is a legal means of proof directed by one party in a case to the other party to settle a specific disputed fact, whereby the party to whom the oath is directed is asked to swear that he is truthful in denying or proving the fact. If the party takes the oath, its legal effect follows in settling the fact concerned. If, however, he refuses to take it or fails to appear to take it without an excuse the court accepts, he may be considered as having declined it, with the resulting legal effects that may decisively affect the outcome of the dispute.
A hearing at a sensitive time
The timing could hardly be trickier for Salah. The 6 September hearing lands just as the player prepares to begin his official journey with Trabzonspor in the Turkish league.
Salah was scheduled to play his first match in the competition on 15 August against Kasimpasa, while Trabzonspor are set to face Genclerbirligi on the very day set for the court hearing.
He must now deal with the court's ruling on his personal attendance at the exact moment he is beginning a new chapter of his professional career with Trabzonspor.