The leadership of Russia's Chechen Republic, where Egypt is based during the FIFA World Cup in Russia, have no need to use the Egyptian national team or their star striker Mohamed Salah for self-promotion, the republic's parliament speaker Magomed Daudov said on Monday.
Earlier, a number of Western media claimed that Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov used Salah and his team's stay in the Chechen capital Grozny for self-promotion as he made Salah an honorary citizen of the southern Russian region.
"Mohamed Salah is one of the world's most famous athletes. Of course, the Egyptian national team's stay in Grozny has positively influenced the republic's image, it has attracted additional tourists. But the assertions that Ramzan Kadyrov uses this factor for self-promotion is a fiction, there is no need to do so. He is already well-known around the world," Daudov said.
He added that other star players had already visited the region in the past.
"Maradona and Ronaldinho, Luis Figo, Fabien Barthez, Cafu, Zico, Romario and others, not to mention top stars from other sports, have visited us. So I think such statements are inappropriate," Daudov said.
Egypt, who failed to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament, will play their final World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Volgograd on Monday.
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