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CAIRO (AP) — A bronze statue of Mohamed Salah unveiled Monday at an international youth gathering in Egypt has been criticized for its poor resemblance to the Liverpool striker.
The statue depicts Salah with a disproportionately large head and small arms stretched in the celebratory pose the 26-year-old Egyptian took in the latter part of last season.
The figure, made by artist Mai Abdullah, has Salah's trademark curly hair and is standing on what appears to be a pot for plants.
Salah has not spoken publicly about the statue and Abdullah was not immediately available for comment, but the artist defended her work in a Facebook post, saying the statue was made as part of an online program to teach sculpting.
"The negative comments will not frustrate or have an effect on me, but I do hope that people would learn the art of polite and respectful criticism," Abdullah wrote in response to a wave of ridicule on social media.
Last year, Cristiano Ronaldo had a bust unveiled that was also criticized for its lack of a resemblance.
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