The dispute between star player Mohamed Salah and the Egyptian football association came back to the spotlight on Sunday after the Liverpool winger accused it of ignoring his complaints about its unauthorized use of his image.
“It's normal that a football federation seeks to solve the problems of its players so they can feel comfortable. But in fact, what I see is exactly the opposite,” he tweeted on Sunday.
“It is not normal that my messages and my lawyer's messages are ignored. I do not know why all this (is happening)? Do you not have time to respond to us?!” he added.
Ramy Abbas, Salah's agent, said he and his client have asked for guarantees regarding the 26-year-old's “wellbeing” while on the national team and assurances that his image rights will not be violated again.
Egypt's football association said in a statement it would discuss Salah's demands on Monday.
The dispute first surfaced in April when the Egyptian national team prominently featured Salah's image on its plane, which was provided by official team sponsor WE. Salah has a sponsorship deal with a rival telecommunications firm, Vodafone.
Salah's relationship with the association has been strained since he was apparently used as a political symbol while the World Cup squad was based in Chechnya.
