Arabic press review: Mo Salah got injured, and Egyptians smell a Saudi rat
Super Salah smashed for Saudi sweetener
Egypt erupted in anger at the injury of Mohamed Salah in Saturday's Champions League final, with some claiming a Saudi plot, according to a report in al-Quds al-Arabi.
Egyptian fans claimed the Liverpool and Egypt footballer was injured in the match against Real Madrid as part of a plan by Turki al-Sheikh, the chairman of the Saudi sports authority.
Salah suffered a dislocated shoulder after being dragged to the ground in a challenge by Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos midway through the first half. Liverpool lost the match 3-1.
Some Egyptians used social media to claim the Saudis had paid Sergio Ramos to go in heavy on Salah, and photoshopped pictures were circulated of Sheikh handing Ramos cash.
Sheikh has previously expressed his wishes to see Salah absent from the World Cup in Russia, starting in June, where Saudi Arabia and Egypt will play each other in a group match.
The Saudi official tried to mitigate Egyptian anger, saying on Twitter: "Unfortunately, our great Arab star Mohamed Salah’s absence for two months has been confirmed, meaning that we will miss him in the World Cup. We wish him a speedy recovery."
Not so. Salah has said he hopes to be fit for the World Cup. "It was a very tough night, but I'm a fighter," he said.
"Despite the odds, I'm confident that I'll be in Russia to make you all proud. Your love and support will give me the strength I need."
Jordan's unions have called the nation's first strike in protest at new laws, including the government's decision to introduce an "income tax".
The prime minister, Hani al-Mulki, refused to scrap income tax and rejected any amendments to the civil service system, prompting trade unions to declare a strike on Wednesday, according to the Jordanian newspaper al-Ghad.
The engineers' syndicate issued a statement saying the decision was taken as part of "ongoing steps that aim at protecting its employees and siding with the Jordanian people against the government's intrusion into economic policies".
The syndicate said the government was acting "in a way that is harmful to the nation and the citizen”.
* Arabic press review is a digest of reports that are not independently verified as accurate by Middle East Eye.
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