23 August 2018

ABO RIDA, Hany

President
Egyptian Football Association
Via email to efa@efa.eg

Subject: Mohamed Salah Ghaly

Dear Sirs,
I am writing on behalf of Mohamed Salah (“Mohamed”).
As you know, the Egyptian Football Association (“EFA”) has caused great harm to Mohamed
in the recent months, and this is something we have not forgotten about, and nor should you.
You have not made Mohamed comfortable whilst he is on International Duty and I cannot think
of any other National Association which would treat any player in the disgraceful and abhorrent
manner as you have treated Mohamed.
Your World Cup failure is the direct result of the incompetent management which you have
displayed ever since Mohamed scored that stoppage time penalty against Congo. Success on
the field took a back seat ever since.
We are currently assessing Mohamed’s situation with the Egyptian Football Association.
Mohamed holds Egypt in the highest regard and he is lost for words when it comes to describing
what it feels like to play for his country. Mohamed would like to continue representing his
country for many years to come.
Mohamed is a true patriot, and as Thomas Jefferson once said, “dissent is the highest form of
patriotism”.
We may call for the President, and for the entire board, and management, of the EFA to
resign with immediate effect.
Whether or not we do this depends on your response to this letter, and on how the EFA
conducts itself moving forward.
This is explained further below.
Despite the public declarations of love by the EFA towards Mohamed in the various media
channels, the EFA has time and time again disrespected Mohamed and has never made any
efforts to ensure that he is comfortable whilst on International Duty.
Actions speak volumes, and so far, your silence is deafening.
Simply put, moving forward, the only extent to which the EFA is to benefit from Mohamed is
by him playing football in official matches for the Egyptian National Team. Nothing else. It is
vital that you understand and accept this.
Aside from training sessions and technical meetings, you would have to consider that
Mohamed only comes to life at kick off, and until the final whistle is blown. At all other times,
Mohamed does not exist for the purposes of the EFA. It may be easier for you to pretend that
outside those times, Mohamed vanishes into thin air.
Moreover, no one from the EFA is permitted to even discuss with Mohamed the possibility of
a celebrity meeting him whilst he is made available for International Duty.
We will not tolerate the EFA allowing people to camp outside Mohamed’s hotel room during
the early hours of the morning and knock on his door at 3am or 4am to ask for autographs and
pictures, or for him to be mobbed whilst being taken to or from the training ground.
The EFA’s Obligations:
The EFA must confirm that it shall ensure that:
1) two security guards are present outside Mohamed’s hotel room at all times, and another
security guard is placed at the lifts of the floor in which Mohamed’s room is located;

2) all phone calls to Mohamed’s hotel room are blocked;

3) Mohamed will not be expected to be made available for any promotional appearances,
interviews, meets and greets, sponsor events, official visits, “VIP” visits, picture
sessions, or anything, by anyone on behalf of the EFA. All such appearances must be
discussed with me well in advance in my capacity as sole director of MS Commercial
(Cayman) LTD. Pleases expect all such requests to be refused;

4) whenever Mohamed travels for International Duty, the EFA must ensure that he is
picked up from the aeroplane and taken directly to his hotel room in the most discrete
manner possible. All the staff involved in this must be made acutely aware that they are
not to ask for pictures or autographs, or delay him in any way;

5) Mohamed must always be accompanied by two security guards at least and must be
safely and comfortably transported to and from the training ground;

6) no one working for the EFA, or connected to the EFA (including, without limitation,
guests of the EFA) may ask Mohamed for autographs or pictures. There will be a time
and place for everything and this will be decided by MS Commercial (Cayman) LTD,
and never by the EFA;

7) the image of Mohamed is never used by the EFA or by any sponsor of the EFA, without
the written consent of MS Commercial, regardless of whether the image of Mohamed
is used alone, or alongside other players of the Egyptian National Team (this request is
made by me on behalf of MS Commercial (Cayman) LTD in my capacity as Director);
Having miserably failed in all your attempts to drive a wedge between Mohamed and I, your
efforts should instead be focused on making sure that Mohamed is comfortable and not
damaged when he makes himself available for international duty.
In the short term, it is your response to us which shall determine whether or not we believe that
you, and the entire board of the EFA should resign, and on whether or not we would have a
duty to the Egyptian people to voice our opinion in this regard.
These conditions are non-negotiable.
The Media:
Pending your response, which we must receive by Monday, 27 August 2018, signed by the
President of the EFA, we shall not be making any statements to the media or on social media.
We may, however, revisit this decision at any time.
With respect to the statements made in the past about me by the EFA and those speaking on its
behalf, may I suggest that for practical purposes, you take a look at the relatively short history
between us and see whether you stand a chance against me, whether we battle this out in the
media, away from the media, in court, or wherever.
Your next steps:
You must respond to this letter by Monday, 27 August 2018.
Your response should unequivocally confirm your acceptance to all the above. Should you not
respond within the aforementioned timeframe or should your response in any manner fall short
of our expectations, we would consider that you are not willing to accommodate the demands
we have set out above and both Mohamed and I would, call for the resignation of the President
of the EFA and of the entire board of the EFA.
We will now outline how we would do this.
We would, on 2 September 2018, write to you again and ask that you and the entire board of
the EFA resign, within 5 days of such letter. If you do not resign, we would on 7 September
2018, at 12 noon Egyptian time, publicly call for your resignation and that of the entire board
of the EFA.

All rights reserved,

Sincerely,
Ramy Abbas Issa