An Egypt legend wishes the Pharaohs had let their performance on the pitch do the talking as opposed to captain Mohamed Salah getting defensive over criticism from the public.
Ahead of the Egyptians' Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 match against Ivory Coast on Wednesday night, Salah accused the Egyptian fanbase of supporting only certain individuals and not the overall team.
The seven-time Afcon champions would come out triumphant from their match against the Elephants, winning 5-4 on penalties, with the Liverpool forward slotting away the decisive spot-kick.
After the game, though, legendary Egypt striker Hossam Hassan said that the only way to get the fans back on the team's side was with a winning effort and not with the kind of comments made by Salah before the match.
"The Egyptian fans were upset with the performance in the group stage, and Salah should have apologised to them and admitted what they did and promised to answer on the pitch. This would prove that he and his teammates are doing their best, and they wouldn't be blamed," Egypt's all-time top goalscorer told MBC Masr TV, as per KingFut.com.
"Salah accepts criticism in England, and he knows if he performs poorly in two consecutive matches, that the fans will criticise him. So how can he refuse criticism when we are talking about the Egyptian national team?"
Egypt will go head to head with north African rivals Morocco at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde to contest for a semi-final berth on Sunday.
