Mohamed Salah has been left out of Egypt national team to the Olympics after Liverpool declined to release the forward.
Salah was dropped from coach Shawky Gharib’s 22-man team as a result of the Reds’ hesitation to see him take part in a tournament which is not part of FIFA’s calendar.
Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny also will not play at the tournament, with teams on the men’s side fielding Under-23 squads and able to use three overage players.
Before now, Egypt Football Association president Ahmed Megahed assured that the 29-year-old would “find a way” to be at the Olympics. But, Liverpool will be keeping their star for pre-season.
The Olympics football competition is due to kick off on July 22 and run until August 7, seven days before the new Premier League campaign begins.
Meanwhile, Liverpool will be without Salah in January for the Africa Cup of Nations, which means they could not have afford to to miss out on his services on two occasions in the 2021-22 season.
The 22-man team is mainly dominated by players from the Egyptian Premier League with Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shennawy among the overage players alongside former Stoke City and Huddersfield winger Ramadan Sobhi.
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