FIFA World Cup El-Shenawy
Mordovia Arena Russia

Egypt opened their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 loss at the hands of Uruguay but the African side will surely take a lot of positives from their performance against their Group A opponents.

Egypt started the match with their star player Mo Salah on the bench and not everyone would have given them a chance to stand up against the South American side.

But the African nation were resolute in keeping Luis Suarez and co at bay for the longest time until an 89th-minute goal from Jose Gimenez broke the heart of a whole nation.




Egypt keeper Mohamed El-Shenawy was undoubtedly the star of the whole match after he made a number of fine saves throughout the 90 minutes.

And in the end, El-Shenawy was adjusted the Man of the Match.

But the 29-year-old keeper refused to accept his MOTM award after the game.




After the final whistle was blown, players were returning to their dressing rooms and it was here that the El Ahly keeper was scheduled to be handed the trophy.

But as the official approach him, El-Shenawy raised his hand in disapproval and walked away.

After this incident was caught on camera, many people have been wondering why the keeper refused to accept the token of acknowledgement.




Well as things stand, the MOTM trophy during the 2018 World Cup is sponsored by beer manufacturers Budweiser and El-Shenawy being a Muslim did not want to accept the trophy.

The faith of Islam generally forbids the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Budweiser is one of the main sponsors of the 2018 World Cup and the brand is also the official alcohol supplier during the month-long tournament.




Egypt play their next game against Russia on Tuesday evening and there is a very high probability that the team sheet will have the name of Mo Salah in it after the Liverpool forward remained an unused substitute during their defeat to Uruguay.

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