Controversy is escalating inside the Egypt national team camp, hours after the goalless draw against Angola opened the Pharaohs' campaign in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, amid talk of tension in the dressing room.
Hossam Hassan pulled Mohamed Salah off in the 60th minute, then insisted the call was purely tactical. The captain, he stressed, was not carrying an injury.
According to Egyptian journalist Ahmed Abdel Baset, Salah left the camp quietly and refused to get drawn into any crisis, amid what he described as tension in the dressing room and statements that sparked controversy after the Angola encounter.
The EFA statement
The Football Association hit back with a statement of its own, revealing that Hassan had chosen to rest Salah from the South Sudan match because the pitch was "turf".
Salah and the coaching staff had struck an agreement before the Angola match that he would sit out South Sudan, a call made to protect the player.