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Mohamed Salah (far right) in his military uniform [Photo, Courtesy)
Do not be shocked to hear that top players in the Premier League in one way or another escaped or avoided military service.
The United Kingdom and other governments had a compulsory military service that required all male citizens to enrol for one or two years in the army at the age of 18.
Sportspeople, however famous, were not exempted from the service.
Some, however, found a way to escape this dreaded routine.
Game Yetu looks at five Premier League players who reportedly escaped military service.
Mohamed Salah – Egypt
The Egyptian assassin has played a key role in Liverpool’s revival since joining from Roma on June 22, 2017.
Known for his excellent dribbling, speed and finishing, Salah sizzled in his Premier League first season, netting 32 goals to become the top scorer.
The Egyptian’s career, however, was in jeopardy after reports arose in 2014 that he could be forced to return to Egypt to carry out military service after his registration for an education scheme was annulled by Egypt’s Minister of Higher Education.
Luckily enough, the 26-year-old had not returned to his home country to serve in the military when the Egyptian Prime Minister stepped in to resolve the matter.
Per Mertesacker – Germany
The former Arsenal skipper evaded service in the army as he was apparently too tall.
Mertesacker wrote to the authorities to inform them that he could not fit into a tank or submarine [Photo, Courtesy]
The ex-Germany international centre back is 6’6 feet high and he said that he wrote to the military authorities to inform them that he could not fit into a tank or submarine.
His request was successful even though he made contributions to his nation by serving in mental health clinics for a while.
Nemanja Vidic – Serbia
The former Manchester United star left his home town of Uzice for Belgrade at the age of 15 and joined Red Star.
The former Serbia international could have been caught up in action during a NATO bombing campaign which targeted both Uzice and Belgrade.
However, he was lucky enough as he had visited an army training camp two days earlier to hand in the paperwork which excused him from national service as a professional footballer.
Nemanja Vidic was excused from the army as a professional footballer [Photo, Courtesy]Yossi Benayoun – Israel
The former Liverpool star was 18 years of age when he joined the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) as military service was mandatory in the country.
But even though, army service was flexible for professional athletes, thus Benayoun was lucky to see his football career not compromised.
He continued to play in the Israel league before joining the Premier League to play for West Ham, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and QPR.
Son won the Asian Games with South Korea and thus was exempted from the military service [Photo, Courtesy]
Son Heung-Min - South Korea
All able-bodied men aged 20 or older in South Korea are required to serve in the armed forces for at least 2 years.
The Tottenham winger had a narrow escape from serving in the military after South Korea won the Asian Games early this year.
Athletes who win the Asian games are exempted from the military service.
The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media
platforms spanning newspaper print operations, television, radio broadcasting,
digital and online services. The Standard Group is recognized as a leading
multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and
international interest.
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