Mohamed Salah becomes 'honorary citizen' of Chechnya | OneFootball

It’s often been said that football and politics shouldn’t mix – apparently nobody told that to Ramzan Kadyrov.

The leader of Chechnya, who’s been widely described as a dictator who suppresses his political opponents and has been accused of human rights abuses, awarded Mohamed Salah an honorary citizenship at a farewell banquet to the Egypt squad.

Chechnya’s capital, Grozny, has been hosting their training camp and Kadyrov, backed by the Kremlin, has looked to legitimise his regime by appearing on several occasions this past week alongside the Premier League record-breaker.

“Mohamed Salah is an honorary citizen of the Chechen Republic. Yes, that’s right! Tonight I signed a decree conferring this high award on the great footballer and member of the Egypt and Liverpool teams,” Kadyrov wrote on messaging app Telegram.

Salah was presented with a badge and a copy of the decree at the dinner on Friday night.

Egypt are due to leave Grozny on Saturday for Volgograd, where they will play Saudi Arabia on Monday in their last group match.