Model claims Salah comments have made her hate figure who cannot return to Egypt
Football
By
Mirror
| Jun 30, 2019
A British-Egyptian model says she has become a hate figure and fears she could be attacked if she returns to Egypt.
Merhan Keller claims she has received 'thousands' of messages of abuse after Liverpool star Mohamed Salah tweeted about his Egypt team-mate Amr Warda and helped secure his return to the Africa Cup of Nations squad.
Warda had been sent home from the tournament after admitting that he had sent vile messages of a sexual nature to Ms Keller, 28, over social media.
Warda apologised for his actions in a video message on his official Facebook page.
Salah was among the players to speak out about the incident, condemning Warda's behaviour, but insisting that he shouldn't have been "sent straight to the guillotine".
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He wrote on Twitter: "Women must be treated with the utmost respect. 'No' means 'no'. Those things are and must remain sacred.
"I also believe that many who make mistakes can change for the better and shouldn’t be sent straight to the guillotine, which is the easiest way out.
"We need to believe in second chances... we need to guide and educate. Shunning is not the answer."
On Friday, Warda was recalled to the squad following the messages of support.
Ms Keller has since been receiving hate mail on social media and claims that she has had "thousands" of abusive messages.
"This person (Salah) is God in Egypt. Literally. They don’t deal with him like a football player. He is God and he can do no wrong," Ms Keller said.
"This makes me in jeopardy. I cannot go to my country right now if I want to visit my family.
"People will attack me in the streets. You know how football fans are - ours are 100 times worse."