Egypt took on two-times Fifa World Cup champions Uruguay in their opening match on June 15, Friday staging a fight that would have been unforeseen by many.
The Pharaohs made the headlines not for their come-back after lengthy absence in the World Cup tournaments-but because of one man known as Mohammed Salah.
Having been clinical and dependable for the Egyptians in their qualifiers, all fingers were crossed as many eyes waited in prayers, to see the ‘Egyptian Messi’ get on to the pitch.
However, this was not going to be. His teammates battled the mighty Uruguay armed with Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani as he watched helplessly at the touchline.
The deadlock would be broken at the 89th minute and so were the hearts of Egyptian fans. Uruguayan Gimenez buried a header past Mohammed Elshenawy at the dying minutes of the game helping his side to win 1-0.
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Nonetheless, Elshenawy played his heart out despite losing the battle in the advanced time of the game. He earned Man-of-the-Match award afterwards.
But his response may have puzzled many but not his fellow Muslims. Elshenawy turned down a player of the match trophy which is an artistic red goblet.
Islam values prohibit alcohol consumption, and that was the reason behind Elshenawy's gesture.
An Egyptian official confirmed this and attributed this to his religious beliefs. A picture posted by a user identified as Marwa Ahmed on twitter shows Elshenawy declining a gift from Budweiser-the official Fifa sponsor of man-of-the-match award.
The Egyptian official has nonetheless clarified that players are not restricted from taking the award, and that decision rests with individuals.
