Photo credit: Getty Images |
Mohamed
Salah, Liverpool forward, had a tearful Champions League exit barely 30 minutes
into the game. Salah sustained a shoulder injury after his tussle with Real
Madrid captain and veteran defender, Sergio Ramos. This was a highly
controversial tangle as Ramos locked Salah tight before inter-linking his arm
with Salah's and falling on top of his left shoulder, after the ball had rolled
free. Ramos was not given a yellow card.
Salah was
treated after the fall but he fell to the ground 4 minutes later, with tears
flowing from his eyes. He was forced to leave the field 30 minutes into the
game due to excruciating pain. Neither Real nor Liverpool had scored by the
time he left. Salah was replaced by Adam Lallana, who had only recently
recovered from a hamstring industry. Real Madrid went on to win the game 3
goals to 1.
Mohamed
Abuela, Egypt's team doctor contacted Liverpool's medical team who told him
Salah's shoulder would be x-rayed in coming hours to assess the gravity of his
injury and decide on treatment.
Real's
Cristiano Ronaldo showed sportsmanship as he went over to comfort Salah,
patting him on the head as he departed. Salah's Egyptian national team
preparing for its first World Cup since 1990 posted a picture of Salah on their
Twitter handle, with the message: "Get well soon."
The brutal
tackle which "prematurely" ended Salah's final provoked the wrath of
Egypt and Liverpool fans. Twitter crashed right after Salah's exit, with Sergio
Ramos being the top trend. Ramos obviously wasn't trending for his greatness as
a player, but was demonized for causing Salah's misfortune. "Ramos is a
dog." was one of the trending topics. It is however difficult to tell
whether Ramos meant to injure Salah when they inter-linked arms, but he does
have a history of tough-tackling. Ramos broke the LaLiga records for red cards
last year.
It is such a
shame that Salah's brilliant Champions League season ended abruptly due to such
an unfortunate turn of events. Salah demolished goal-scoring records, won
individual awards and captured the attention and imagination of football fans
worldwide this season. He was expected to play a major role in the final; to
finalize his metamorphosis from Chelsea reject to world-class icon, but was
denied his big moment. Hopefully, Salah will recover fully and lead the
Pharaohs at the World Cup in Russia.
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