Egypt left Mohamed Salah out of its match against South Sudan because of worries about an artificial pitch. That choice could be questioned if he plays on the same kind of surface for his club, Trabzonspor, in Europe this season.
The match was a qualifier for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, played in Juba. The Egyptian Football Association said Salah was rested after an agreement with the staff of Egypt manager Hossam Hassan, to "protect him". The reason given was the risk of injury on the artificial turf.
At first, this sounds fair. Salah is Egypt's best player, and protecting him makes sense. But the writer points out that Trabzonspor did not ask for the same thing when Salah played on artificial surfaces before.
In October 2024, Salah missed Egypt's games against Mauritania and Cape Verde, played on an artificial pitch in Nouakchott. His then club, Liverpool, had medical staff who feared more back and knee injuries. Trabzonspor, though, did not ask for the same protection.
Europe could make things harder for Egypt's argument. No team in the Turkish Super Lig plays home games on artificial turf, because every stadium in the league has natural grass. But Trabzonspor's games in the UEFA Conference League may offer a direct test.
The club is due to meet Freiburg, KuPS, Hearts, Jablonec and CSKA Sofia. KuPS play their home games at Vare Areena, which is fully covered with artificial turf. So Trabzonspor may have to play an official European match on the very kind of pitch that made Egypt rest Salah.
The club will not pull out of that game. Modern football accepts artificial pitches, and UEFA approves them. This is the key point in the debate about Salah missing the Egypt camp.
Salah has played at Basel, Chelsea, Fiorentina, Roma and Liverpool. In that time he has played dozens of games on artificial turf, including some European qualifying matches. The writer looked through the available record and found no injury of Salah's that was clearly caused by artificial turf.
So Egypt's choice was not based on an injury from such a pitch in the past. It was based on the chance of an injury in the future.
This leaves the Egyptian Football Association with a hard question. If Salah plays on artificial turf in Europe for Trabzonspor, how can the same surface be risky enough to rest the national team captain in a competitive game, yet safe enough for him at club level?
There is also doubt about how long Salah will be away. He will miss Tuesday's game with South Sudan. It is not clear whether he will also miss the last match of the camp, against South Africa at Cairo International Stadium.
The writer says the real issue is not whether Egypt should protect Salah, but whether the protection is applied the same way every time. A clear medical rule would be a stronger base than a choice that looks picked case by case. If Salah plays on artificial turf in Europe this season, Cairo's explanation will face its first serious test.
Text and photos: africasoccer.com · 29.09 — original →
Egypt left Mohamed Salah out of its game against South Sudan because of worries about artificial turf. That choice could be questioned if he plays on the same kind of surface for Trabzonspor in Europe this season.
Salah rested for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Juba. The Egyptian Football Association said the decision was agreed with the staff of manager Hossam Hassan, and that the aim was to "protect him". The reason given was the risk of injury on an artificial pitch.
At first this sounds sensible. Salah matters a great deal to Egypt, and looking after the country's best player makes sense. But the article says the reasoning has a gap, because Trabzonspor did not ask for the same care when Salah played on artificial surfaces before.
The page also recalls October 2024. Salah missed Egypt's games against Mauritania and Cape Verde, which were played on an artificial pitch in Nouakchott. Liverpool's doctors feared more trouble with his back and knees. Even so, Trabzonspor did not ask for him to be protected in the same way.
Europe may make things harder for Egypt's argument. No team in the Turkish Super Lig plays its home games on artificial turf, because every stadium in the league has natural grass. But Trabzonspor's European season could put the argument to a real test.
In the UEFA Conference League, Trabzonspor are due to meet Freiburg, KuPS, Hearts, Jablonec and CSKA Sofia. KuPS play at home at Vare Areena, which is covered completely in artificial turf. So Trabzonspor might have to play an official European match on the very kind of surface that made Egypt rest Salah.
The club will not pull out of that match. Artificial pitches are a normal part of modern football, and UEFA approves them. The article says this background is central to the argument about Salah being missing from the Egypt camp.
Salah has played for Basel, Chelsea, Fiorentina, Roma and Liverpool. In that time he has played dozens of games on artificial turf, including some European qualifying matches. The writer looked through the available record and found no injury of Salah's that was clearly caused by artificial turf. So Egypt's choice rested on the chance of a future injury, not on any past injury linked to the surface.
That leaves a hard question for the Egyptian Football Association. Suppose Salah plays on artificial turf in Europe for Trabzonspor. How can the same surface be too dangerous for the national team captain in a competitive game, yet safe enough for him at club level?
It is also unclear how long Salah will be away from the Egypt camp. He will miss Tuesday's game with South Sudan. Nobody has said whether he will also miss the last game of the camp, against South Africa at Cairo International Stadium.
The article's main point is that the issue is not whether Egypt should protect Salah. It is whether the protection is applied the same way every time. A clear medical rule would be a stronger base than a choice that looks picked case by case. If Salah does play on artificial turf in Europe this season, the explanation given in Cairo will face its first serious test.
Text and photos: africasoccer.com · 29.09 — original →
Mohamed Salah, the captain of Egypt, has been named in the travelling squad of his club Trabzonspor for a game on an artificial pitch. That has started a fresh argument about why he was left out of an Egypt game on the same kind of surface last month.
The Turkish club made the announcement on Wednesday. The match is on Thursday against Cobbs from Finland. It is the opening round of the league phase of the UEFA Conference League.
People are asking questions because the Thursday game will be played on artificial turf. The Egyptian Football Association, called the EFA, gave that same surface as its reason for Salah missing the national team's trip to South Sudan in September.
Being in the squad does not mean Salah will play. He might start the game. He might come on as a substitute. He might not play at all.
To understand the debate, you have to go back to 26 September. On that day the EFA said Salah would not travel with Egypt for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against South Sudan. The federation said the aim was to avoid a risk of injury, because the game would be played on an artificial pitch.
The EFA said the choice was made together with the technical staff. That staff is led by head coach Hossam Hassan. The stated reason was the safety of the player.
Hassan spoke about it later. He said Salah had talked to him about the pitch before Egypt's match against Angola. The two of them agreed that the forward would rest for the South Sudan game.
Now that Salah is in the Trabzonspor squad, people are asking why the club's decision looks so different from Egypt's. Their thinking goes like this. If artificial turf was risky enough to keep the captain out of a national team game, why is he in a club squad for a match on the same surface? Some wonder whether something has changed since then.
The page is careful about what is actually known. Neither the squad list nor the club's announcement proves that he will play. His part in the game will depend on which players the coach picks. So for now, his role on Thursday is uncertain.
The whole episode has put the EFA's explanation under new attention. That explanation was used for resting one of Egypt's most important players during the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
For now, Trabzonspor's announcement confirms only one thing. Salah is part of the group travelling for the European match. It does not confirm that he will step onto the pitch. The question that remains is why the worries about artificial turf that Egypt raised in September have not stopped him being included for a game on a similar surface.
Text and photos: africasoccer.com · 14.10 — original →
