Egypt footballers accused of 'sexual harassment' amid African Cup

Merhan Keller posted images of midfielder Amr Warda messaging her on the social media platform through private messages, local media reported.

Keller also showed images of three other Egyptian players - Ahmed Hassan Kouka, Mahmoud Hamdy 'El-Wensh' and Ayman Ashraf - interacting with her on Instagram.

The Dubai-based Egyptian model posted images of a long conversation with Warda, in which he invites her to visit Greece, where he plays for domestic club Atromitos.

According to Keller, the 25-year-old sent her angry messages after she ignored his advances.

Warda, who came on as a substitute in Egypt's win against Zimbabwe on Friday, was allegedly booted from Greek team PAOK last year for sexually harassing wives of his teammates.

Egypt national team director Ihab Leheta addressed the scandal on Sunday, telling the media that the players had been spoken to and told to focus on the ongoing tournament.

Warda has shut down his Instagram account since Keller went public with her allegations.

The Arab world's most populous country has one of the world's highest rates of sexual harassment.

Egypt opened the tournament by beating outsider Zimbabwe 1-0 in Cairo, providing relief for the host nation.

Egypt is hosting its first major sporting event since the 2011 uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak and led to years of violence and civil unrest that is still being felt.

Egypt is a record seven-time African Cup champion but won the last of its titles in 2010.

The unrest affected the football team, too, and it failed to even qualify for the next three tournaments.

Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah helped lead Egypt back to the final two years ago, when it lost to Cameroon.

Egypt has put in place a vast security plan for the month-long tournament.

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