While international team-mate Mohamed Elneny, for example, posted a picture of the Palestinian flag to demonstrate his solidarity, Salah had kept a lower profile until Wednesday.
Initially, this was because he was not as quick as other public figures to offer views about what was happening. Salah, one of the world’s best footballers, has largely been commended in the West for his diplomacy, but it is a reminder of the tightrope being walked by Salah - an icon of the Arab world whose popularity extends across the planet - that in Egypt and across other parts of North Africa and the Middle East, his popularity has taken a hit. His message was, simply, a call for humanitarian aid to be sent into Gaza, citing that all lives are sacred. Salah, 31, did not apportion blame for any of the bloodshed.