Mo Salah's plane and talking Turkey: This week in Middle East football

Mohamed Salah has been facing a major dispute with the Egyptian Football Association only a month and a half ahead of the World Cup in Russia. In fact, the fall-out surrounding what appeared to be the unlicensed use of Salah's image has consumed Egyptian media for days.

So how can a country's FA mistreat its number one football star right before the team's most important moment in decades? The answer is complex, especially if you consider the story's context.

Mohamed Salah is having an extraordinary season. The Egyptian star is enjoying a terrific scoring rate, with 43 goals for Liverpool from 48 matches across all competitions - positioning himself as a worldwide football megastar.

Salah also was in the driving seat of Egypt's World Cup campaign - qualifying for the first time in 28 years - when he scored a brace in his country's decisive match against Congo Brazzaville in November.

Salah has also donated to multiple charity purposes and launched an anti-drugs campaign among Egyptian youth. Until 2017, Salah was Egypt's best player, but in 2018 he metamorphosised into an official International Arab Icon, admired by millions all over the world for making an important cultural impact.

His positive character on the pitch, his relationship with the fans - and the fact that he is socially involved with those in need - is helping combat Islamophobia among European football fans, and in wider society. Fans in the stadium, inspired by his performances, chant their willingness to convert to Islam.

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But not all is perfect on Planet Salah. In the past week a dispute between the player's representatives and the Egyptian Football Association has erupted, all over the use of Salah's image.

A few months ago, the Egyptian FA launched a branded aeroplane for the World Cup, using the national team players' images, with Salah being one of them.

The plane is to be used by the team for their trip to Russia this summer, as well for internal flights during the World Cup.

Salah has a sponsorship deal with telecoms firm Vodafone. The problem aroused when it was discovered that it was rival phone company "We", the official sponsor of the Egyptian national team, which provided the jet - and their logo is plastered all over it.

Salah's representative, Ramy Abbas Issa, expressed his client's concern around the situation. Sources close to the player said Salah's exclusive contract with Vodafone included a clause stating any endorsement of a rival telecoms company would result in the player being fined five million Egyptian pounds (around $280,000).

Abbas Issa said he called the FA multiple times since the PR photos of the plane were published online, but received no response. He and Salah then expressed their dissatisfaction publicly on social media.

Egypt's fans, media and even Cairo politicians rallied round the player, forcing the FA to change its stance.

Late on Sunday night, the Egyptian FA declared it would pay any fines or expenses caused to the player, and Salah himself tweeted that a solution might be near at hand.

Despite the mass of public support and the unprofessional treatment by the FA of their brightest star, in legal terms, Salah does not have a clear case on the issue. In manners of players' brand rights, there is no rule that limits the clubs or an FA using images of their players - even if they are committed to different sponsors.

In this way, for example, Lionel Messi is an Adidas athlete, while Barcelona are officially "adopted" by Nike. Cristiano Ronaldo is in the same situation, the other way around.

Time will tell whether this crisis between Egypt's FA and its hero is over, or if the saga will drag on for six weeks before the tournament. 

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The battle of Constantinople