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NICOLAS ASFOURI / Getty Images
Mohamed Salah is considering leaving the Egyptian national team because of his involvement with Chechnya at the 2018 FIFA World Cup ™.
The Egyptian team was based in Chechnya, and the Liverpool star was photographed with the leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who then made the Egyptian a "citizen of honor" of the Chechen Republic.
CNN's John Sinnott and Alireza Hajihosseini report that Salah "feels exposed" by events and does not want to be used for political purposes.
Salah has become one of the brightest stars of European football after a prolific season for Liverpool. He scored 43 goals in all competitions and helped the team in the UEFA Champions League final.
The striker is the star player of Egypt, although he missed his opening match of the World Cup against Uruguay because of a problem of shoulder contracted against Real Madrid in the final of the Champions League.
During the competition. Salah met Kadyrov and was made honorary citizen of Chechnya, as Russian correspondent Alec Luhn showed:
Alec Luhn @ASLuhn
Just Kadyrov declares Mo Salah honorary citizen of Chechnya. You would think that you would have at least read the Wikipedia entry on a place before taking citizenship … or maybe it does not care about it https://t.co / WLvwbpMOJb https://t.co/UAvl7uHwqn
Sports writer Karim Zidan explained Kadyrov's motives:
Karim Zidan @ZidanSports
To be clear, Kadyrov's only interest in Salah, not the entire Egyptian team. Being photographed alongside Salah makes him appear as the friend of one of the most popular Muslim athletes in the world. Look where Salah is sitting in relation to his teammates #WorldCup https://t.co/XPM3q3HhRp
Kadyrov has been responsible for Chechnya since 2007 but has been accused of human rights violations, by Sky Sports News.
The Chechen leader denied using Salah for political reasons, according to Steve Rosenberg of BBC News:
Steve Rosenberg @BBCSteveR
After his public appearance with Mo Salah in Grozny, I ask Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov: "Your critics say you used Mo Salah for political propaganda. Have you got? He replies, "I have not invited Mo Salah, nor the team from Egypt. They chose us. "Https://t.co/IwsqfDl5rl
Luhn felt that Salah was dropped by the people around him:
Alec Luhn @ASLuhn
How could the people of Mo Salah let him continue to make these opaque photos with the human rights violator Ramzan Kadyrov? Then you look at his agent's Twitter: "Political correctness is for morons" https://t.co/hYKhPEmIZG
Salah played in the second game of the World Cup of Egypt, where he was eliminated after a 3-1 defeat against Russia.
The Liverpool star is also set to begin his last group match on Monday as the Pharaohs face Saudi Arabia.
After the match, Salah will be able to return home and enjoy a football break before returning to Liverpool for pre-season training.
The before will have time to think seriously about his international future after the World Cup and decide if he wants to bring it to an untimely end.
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