Yesterday many around the world watched the Champions League Final soccer match between Liverpool and Real Madrid. For many hours anything even remotely regarding the match topped hashtags all around the world.
In Egypt, the terraces of all Cairo cafés were sure to be sold out as their favourite son Mr Mo Salah (top scorer in the UK Premier League and for the Egyptian national team – see our related coverage) was bound to have a great night.
Related coverage: https://thegoldwater.com/news/24936-Egypt-Cairo-Bars-Filled-With-Mo-Salah-Fans-See-Liverpool-Reach-Final
In the form of his life, this would be Mo Salah’s final match of the season before he would lead Egypt to play in the world cup in Russia.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trending in Egypt now: <br><br>1- We are all Liverpool <br>2- Son of dirt<br>3- Ramos the dog <br>8- Son of shoes <br><br>You get the point. <a href="https://twitter.com/akhbar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@akhbar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UCLFinal?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UCLFinal</a> <a href="https://t.co/kpMHMrNhXW">pic.twitter.com/kpMHMrNhXW</a></p>— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) <a href="https://twitter.com/jenanmoussa/status/1000463370481553408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
But as the clock struck the first half hour, Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid took down Mo Salah with what some call a ‘professional foul.’
Mr Ramos is known as a player who fouls others to get them out of the match, and in the case of Salah he did just that.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ai2qj70mpZk" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Locking his arm, he pulled him down to the ground and both men fell as they went for the ball together. Salah didn’t get up again for the first few minutes, with a dislocated shoulder he couldn’t continue the match. The image of Ramos grinning as Salah had to get replaced was enough to set Egyptian Twitter users into a flaming rage.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Son of shoes is my favourite insult of all time <a href="https://t.co/OdqwLvrYuz">https://t.co/OdqwLvrYuz</a></p>— Katja Kragelund (@applessquabble) <a href="https://twitter.com/applessquabble/status/1000467579364786176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The top hashtags in Egypt soon became: Ramos the butcher, Ramos the dog, We are all Liverpool, son of dirt, … and ‘son of shoes’ which was quite the poor translation by a Twitter employee as Egyptians clearly had another term in mind when they stated ‘son of a whore’ in Arabic.
Today, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry al-Youm had a front page which only showed Salah, crying as he left the football pitch, with underneath the headline: "The night Egyptians cried: Ramos the butcher dislocated Abu Salah's shoulder."
Twitter user Mohamed Shawky said it best: "A man fell on his shoulder and 100 million people felt the pain."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mohamed Salah is expected to recover in time for the World Cup, according to Egyptian media. Best of luck, Mo. �� <a href="https://t.co/yLBJpz9pR0">pic.twitter.com/yLBJpz9pR0</a></p>— LFCGlobe.co.uk (@LFCGlobe) <a href="https://twitter.com/LFCGlobe/status/1000597252950413313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Emotions ran high, with Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawaris stating: "I swear, Sergio Ramos, we will get what is our right from you."
An online petition calling on UEFA to sanction Mr Ramos gathered 100,000 signatures in 15 hours.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“It’s a really serious injury.”<br><br>Things aren’t looking good for Mo Salah, but Egypt are confident he’ll be fit for the World Cup.<br><br>Full story��<a href="https://t.co/ecs2avNjdt">https://t.co/ecs2avNjdt</a> <a href="https://t.co/A1XXGKfWgm">pic.twitter.com/A1XXGKfWgm</a></p>— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/1000660631102656513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
All of Egypt is today praying for their national hero to return in time for the world cup.
Source:
https://twitter.com/thee_best_smart/status/1000474385881485312
Twitter: #mosalah #mosalahworldcup #sundaymorning #uclfinal #QAnon #egypt #Liverpool
Bullshit. This ain't neighborhood soccer, this is serious as it can be. If the stupid Egyptians think this was a foul then they should keep their head where it belongs. Jingoism is understandable but this is invitation to ridicule.