Egyptian soccer superstar Mohamed Salah’s devastating performance for Liverpool in the Champions League has brought him an unexpected fan — the Israeli defense minister.
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| Avigdor Lieberman born on 5 July 1958, is a Soviet-born Israeli politician who serves as the Defense Minister of Israel . Image: JPOST. |
“I will be calling the chief of staff immediately to tell him to hire Mohamed Salah to the Israeli army,”
Israel Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman wrote on Twitter after Salah inspired Liverpool to a 5-2 victory over Roma in the first leg of the Champions League semi final.
MK Ahmad Tibi, of the Joint (Arab) List, was also watching the match.
He first tweeted,
“No Arabs no goals,”
mocking a banned bumper sticker which read,
“No Arabs, no terror attacks.”
mocking a banned bumper sticker which read,
“No Arabs, no terror attacks.”
“Not only in the Israeli national team, but in Liverpool as well,”
Tibi continued.
Israel has several Arabs in its national soccer team.
Tibi continued.
Israel has several Arabs in its national soccer team.
In another tweet he mocked Liberman’s suggestion to draft the Egyptian striker into the IDF.
“I’m sure he’d love to meet you, Mr. Liberman. He will be happy to hear about the sniper you gave an award to and to know your plans for the Aswan Dam,”
He tweeted.
In 2001, when Egypt was considering reintroducing forces in the Sinai, Liberman said Israel should threaten to bomb the Aswan Dam .
The Egyptian scored two goals and grabbed two assists Tuesday, but did not celebrate after scoring as a mark of respect for his former club.
He has 43 goals in all competitions this season and was voted the best player in the Premier League by his fellow players.
Despite the tongue-in-cheek demand from Liberman, there appears no chance that Salah will turn out for an Israeli team.
Although Egypt is one of only two Arab countries to have made peace with Israel, public opinion remains largely hostile to the country and supportive of the Palestinians.
In 2013 Salah, then at FC Basel, was accused of changing his boots to avoid shaking hands with the players of the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv before a preliminary round of Champions League.
Before the start of the second leg, his choice of a “fist bump” rather than handshake hand also attracted attention.
He was roundly booed and whistled by Maccabi fans during the game but still scored.
Salah then explained that there was a lot of pressure on him before this match, but that he was not interested in politics at all.
“The club told me if I don’t go I will be suspended and there will be lots of problems. So I went and thank god I scored,”
He said in a 2014 interview.
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