Alleged sexual harassment: Amr Warda returns to Egypt squad after intervention of Salah, other players

Amr Warda’s expulsion from Egypt’s Africa Cup of Nations squad for alleged sexual harassment of several women online has been overturned following the intervention of several of his team-mates, including Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.

The midfielder was booted out on Wednesday after a British-Egyptian model shared screenshots showing a series of inappropriate messages apparently sent by Warda via Whatsapp and Instagram. But after Pharaohs captain Ahmed Elmohamady and Salah were among the players to express their solidarity with Warda following Egypt’s group stage victory over DR Congo, the Egyptian Football Association confirmed on Friday that the 25-year-old, who spent last season on loan to Atromitos from their fellow Greek Super League side PAOK, will now be allowed to return to the squad after their final group stage match against Uganda on Sunday.

“[President] Hani Abu Reda praised the spirit of solidarity between the players and their desire to pardon their colleague Amr Warda and to lift the suspension from him and their commitment to any decision issued by the Football Association in this regard,” read a statement on the EFA’s website. “He decided to reduce the penalty of suspension until the end of the first round of the tournament only. Abu Reda assured the players of his demand and the demand of all of them to continue this solidarity between them and reflected on their performance in the stadium to delight their fans and the people of Egypt.”

Warda posted a video on Facebook on Thursday where he apologised to his family, his team mates, to the EFA and to “anyone who is upset at me or anyone I have upset”. Yet it is the intervention of Salah – who helped Liverpool to win a sixth Champions League title earlier this month – which appears to have swayed their decision to recall him. Despite having stated in an interview with Time magazine in April that he hoped to help change attitudes of men in his country and across the Muslim world to “treat women with more respect”, the forward tweeted his support for Warda following the win over DRC.

“Women must be treated with the utmost respect. ‘No’ means ‘no’. Those things are and must remain sacred,” wrote Salah before adding: “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.” The Guardian UK