Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah will not represent Egypt at the Olympics this summer, after being left out of his country’s final squad. This is news that will surely be a relief for Red fans, as the selection would have meant that Salah missed the pre-season.
Men’s soccer at the Olympics is an age-restricted competition, but Egyptian coach Shawky Gharib regularly spoke of including national hero Salah as one of three players allowed over the age.
Gharib confirmed as early as March that he intended to include Salah in the squad. The coach then publicly claimed just a month ago that Salah wanted to play in the Olympics, but Egypt did not seem to be able to get Liverpool’s permission.
In mid-June, Gharib stated that Egypt was still waiting for a response from Liverpool regarding a request for Salah to be included in the final Olympic squad. But with the squad now confirmed and Salah not involved, it seems like permission was never granted.
Egypt wanted Salah to be one of the older players in his group / Soccrates Images / Getty Images
Olympic football is not officially recognized by FIFA and therefore does not fall under the same rules as typical international football when clubs are legally obliged to release all players called up by their national teams. When it is the Olympics, clubs have the right to refuse.
That was the case when Barcelona tried to block Lionel Messi from being called up by Argentina in 2008, only to have Pep Guardiola personally intervene to persuade the club to release him. Barcelona could still take similar steps with regard to Pedri’s request from Spain. France also had to submit a revised squad after a number of players were denied permission from their respective clubs.
Egypt were regular Olympic qualifiers when it was strictly an amateur competition before 1992, but this summer is only their third time since it became a professional Under 23 tournament. They were eliminated in the group stage in 1992 and reached the quarterfinals in 2012.
This time, the North African nation has been drawn into a very tough group along with Argentina, Spain and Australia, which means they will have to pull off a big shock early just to have a chance to advance to the knockout stages.
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