Mohamed Salah

By Muhammad Abubakar

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has ignited fresh debate over media bias in football after highlighting what he sees as unequal treatment between himself and fellow striker Harry Kane. 

Speaking in a recent interview, Salah recalled a past spell when Kane went 10 matches without scoring, yet continued to receive strong backing from commentators.

According to Salah, the tone was markedly different when he experienced similar difficulties. “The media were like: ‘Oh, Harry will score for sure.’ When it comes to Mo, everyone is like: ‘He needs to be on the bench,’” he said. The Egyptian forward stressed that his point was not a personal jab at Kane, adding humorously, “I am sorry, Harry!”

Salah’s comments quickly circulated on social media, garnering millions of views and sparking widespread discussion. Analysts and supporters have since weighed in, with many arguing that the incident reflects broader inconsistencies in how players from different backgrounds are portrayed in mainstream football coverage.

The episode has added a new layer to ongoing conversations about fairness, perception, and representation in global sport, especially in Europe.

By Maryam Ahmad

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has etched his name deeper into Premier League history with a series of record-breaking achievements during the 2024/25 season. This is contained in a statement posted by the Premier League via its official X account. 

Salah has now scored and assisted in 42 Premier League matches, the most by any player in history. He also became the first player to be involved in 40+ goals in two different seasons.

Salah has scored and assisted in 11 league matches this season, more than any other player. His consistent goal-scoring form has seen him rise to 6th place on the all-time Premier League top scorers list. He now ranks as the 10th all-time assist provider in the competition’s history.

Salah’s impact has been particularly significant in away fixtures. He holds the joint record for most away goals in a single Premier League season (16) and most away assists (11). His combined tally of 27 away goals and assists in a season is also unmatched.

Salah has solidified his status at Anfield as a club legend, becoming the fourth player to score 100+ Premier League goals at a single venue. 

Overall, Salah has now contributed to 264 Premier League goals for Liverpool, a feat surpassed by only two players in the club’s history.

In December 2024, Salah played a crucial role in Liverpool’s campaign. He scored 14 league goals—the joint-most by any player in a single month. His seven assists in the same period also equalled the Premier League record.

Furthermore, Salah became the first player in Premier League history to score and assist in both matches against the reigning champions in a season. 

He also set another landmark by reaching double figures for both goals and assists before Christmas, a feat never achieved before.

With these extraordinary milestones, Salah continues to cement his legacy as one of the greatest players the Premier League has ever seen.

By Aliyu Yakubu Yusuf

The annual FIFA Best Awards 2021 ceremony took place yesterday, January 17, 2022, in Zurich, Switzerland, amidst glitz and glamour. Many awards were contested and won by deserving players. Bayern Munich Polish marksman, Robert Lewandowski, was the biggest winner, as he scooped the prize of the FIFA the Best Men’s Player for the second year running. However, a few controversies left fans watching the event on TV and social media scratching their heads in disbelief. I will highlight just five of them.

• Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi, and Mohamed Salah were selected as the three best players in this order. However, in the annual FIFPro World XI, there was no place for Mohamed Salah. In other words, the Egyptian who was deemed good enough to be the third-best player for the year was considered not good enough to be in the team of the same year. If this is not utterly dumbfounding, I don’t know what is. And somehow, FIFA managed to include Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Braut Haaland, who were ranked lower than Salah, in that team. Ridiculous!

• A similar scenario played itself out again in the goalkeeping category. Chelsea Senegalese custodian, Edouard Mendy, was chosen as the Best Men’s goalkeeper. But somehow, he was overlooked for the same FIFPro World XI. Instead, the PSG Italian shot stopper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, was selected. Fans all over the world were left fuming with this absurdity. How can you choose a player as the best in his position and then fail to select him in your best team of the year? Inexplicable!

• Barcelona Spanish player Alexia Putellas won FIFA the Best Women’s Player in the women’s category but was omitted from the FIFPro Women’s World XI. In other words, the best player of the year was deemed not good enough to have a place in the best team of the year. In case you don’t know, Alexia Putellas won the Ballon d’Or just two months ago. But still, FIFA decided that there were better players to be in the World XI than the double award-winning Spaniard. Baffling!

• Barcelona Women’s team won a treble last year. They won the women’s equivalent of La Liga, Copa Del Rey and the Champions League. Yet, none of their players was chosen in the FIFPro World XI, not even the aforesaid Best Women’s player, Alexia Putellas. Controversial!

• Barcelona Women’s treble-winning coach Lluis Cortes was somehow not chosen as the women’s coach of the year. Instead, the award went to Chelsea Women’s coach, Emma Hayes. By the way, Lluis Cortes and his Barcelona destroyed Emma Hayes and his Chelsea team 4-0 in the Women’s Champions League final late last year. Absurd!

Surprisingly, despite these apparent inconsistencies, there were no cries of robbery, no rubbishing of the awards, no nothing. SMH!

Aliyu is a lecturer at the Department of English and Literary Studies, Bayero University, Kano. He can be reached via aliyuyy@gmail.com.

By Aliyu Yakubu Yusuf

Compared to its more illustrious continental equivalents, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) receives far little media fanfare. With its scheduling in the winter when European football is well underway, the AFCON has been a pain in the ass for many a European club. And the actions on the pitch so far have elicited little excitement among watching fans. Goals have been at a premium, with just nine goals scored in the opening eight games in the tournament, making it a ratio of just over a goal a game.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria took on the Pharaohs of Egypt in a much-anticipated clash of African football titans. With Mohamed Salah at his mesmerizing best for his club, Liverpool and Nigeria having to play without two of its most in-form forwards, Victor Osimhen and Emmanuel Dennis, who are unavailable for various reasons, many pundits and bookmakers earmarked Egypt as the favourite. However, the Eagles didn’t read the script. As soon as the match kicked off, the Nigerians asserted themselves and dominated the early exchanges. However, they were made to wait until the 30^th minute of the game before they got the deserved breakthrough.

Moses Simon, who was a menace for the Egyptian defence all first-half long, left the Egyptian full-back, Tawfik, for dead before putting in a teasing cross that Hegazy partly cleared. The ball fell nicely to Joe Aribo, who directed the ball to Kelechi Iheanacho, who fired an unstoppable missile into the Egyptian net to send thousand Nigerians who crossed the border to Garoua to watch the game into rapture. That was to prove the game’s only goal that turned into a topsy-turvy affair in the second half.

If the Super Eagles were great in the first half, they were effective in the second. The Pharaohs improved massively in the second half. However, the Nigerians fashioned many gilt-edged chances on the break. With a little more composure in front of the goal, the Super Eagles would have won by at least three clear goals. But, assisted by the evergreen Wilfred Ndidi and the silky Joe Aribo at the middle of the park, the Nigerian defence line comprised Ola Aina, Troos-Ekong, Kenneth Omeruo and Zaidu Sunusi successfully managed the unenviable task of keeping Mohamed Salah at bay.

Credit must go to the coach Agustin Eguavon who made his debut today. The Super Eagles had been a shamble for long stretches at the end of Gernot Rohr’s tenure. If this match is anything to go by, the future looks promising for the Super Eagles. Of course, as a traditional footballing powerhouse in the continent, Nigeria goes to any AFCON tournament as one of the favourites. However, it is still early days, and there are better teams in this tournament than the Pharaohs. So, I think Nigeria has an outside chance to go over the finish line.  

Aliyu is a lecturer at the Department of English and Literary Studies, Bayero University, Kano. He can be reached via aliyuyy@gmail.com.