Some decisions protect a player. Others expose just how confused the reasoning behind them really is. That is exactly what has happened in the crisis between Mohamed Salah and the Egypt national team coaching staff under Hossam Hassan.
Egypt's coaching staff decided to rest Mohamed Salah from one of the matches, citing the risk of injury on artificial turf. The argument looked logical at first glance. After all, the safety of the most important player in the history of Egyptian football is an undisputed priority.
By prior agreement with the coaching staff led by Hossam Hassan, Salah was left out of the match against South Sudan in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers because the Juba pitch is artificial turf, a move made "to protect him", according to "the Gabalaya".
The same thing happened in the match between Mauritania and Cape Verde in October 2024 on the artificial pitch in Nouakchott. Liverpool's medical staff at the time expressed their concern about the recurrence of back and knee injuries. Trabzonspor did not request the same thing, so why was the same decision taken?
What seemed logical in Cairo may become very embarrassing in Europe. Let us clarify the picture calmly.
Not a single team in the Turkish Super League plays on artificial turf. Every pitch is natural. The paradox is that the real test will not come from Turkey, but from Europe.
Everyone is following Trabzonspor's journey in the Europa Conference League, where they will face Freiburg, KuPS, Hearts, Jablonec and CSKA Sofia. Among these, the Finnish side KuPS play at their "Väre Arena" stadium, which is entirely covered with artificial turf.
Here is the crux of the matter. Trabzonspor themselves will be forced to play on artificial turf in an official European competition. Will they withdraw? Of course not. Modern football coexists with these surfaces, and UEFA itself approves them.
Which brings us back to the Salah case, and it deserves to be placed in its correct context.
Throughout his career, from Basel to Chelsea, Fiorentina, Roma and Liverpool, Mohamed Salah has played dozens of matches on artificial turf in some of the European qualifying matches.
Go back through the archives and you will not find a single documented injury to Salah caused specifically by artificial turf. So Egypt's decision was not based on a previous injury, but on a "potential risk".
The question hangs in the air without being stated: what if Salah, or any star of his stature, plays next week on an artificial pitch in Europe with his club? What if Trabzonspor take all their stars to Finland without any fuss?
Then the Egyptian Federation will find itself facing an embarrassing question. How can artificial turf be a danger that necessitates resting the national team captain in an official match, when it is an approved and safe surface on which the same player plays in the most important tournaments in the world?
Nobody doubts the Football Association's keenness on Salah's safety, but the standard of protection is another matter. Real protection comes with a clear medical protocol, not a selective decision that opens the door to interpretation.
There is also another dimension to Mohamed Salah's departure from the camp of the Pharaohs. It rules him out of the clash against South Sudan tomorrow, Tuesday. Will he also miss the match against South Africa scheduled at Cairo International Stadium at the conclusion of the camp?
Football today is not played on the type of turf, but on the strength of the argument. Salah playing on artificial turf in Europe is very much a possibility this season. If it happens, the argument made in Cairo will collapse at the first European test.