Ex Liverpool Defender Defends Mohamed Salah After Christmas Tree Backlash

• Dejan Lovren has defended Mohamed Salah over his Christmas post
• Salah has faced backlash from some Muslim supporters over his post
• Lovren and Salah played together before he departed from Anfield in 2020

Dejan Lovren has backed his ex-Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah after Muslim supporters chastised him for tweeting a photo of a Christmas tree on social media.

The 31-year-old Egyptian winger, who is a Muslim, posted a photo of the tree in his house on Christmas Day alongside a caption addressing the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

According to Football UK, Lovren, who was teammates with Salah at Liverpool between 2017 to 2020, defended the forward’s decision to raise awareness of the Middle East conflict and highlighted what a 'special' person he is.

“I knew that Mo has a good heart, but putting himself with a post of a Christmas tree in his house, shows how much his heart and mind is open to every one of you dear people.

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“He knows that he is doing the right thing. So don’t judge him. Instead show the respect. God bless you Mo.”

Although Muslims do not traditionally celebrate Christmas, some do participate in the activities that occur during the Christian holiday.

Salah eyes new record at Burnley

Meanwhile, Liverpool faces Burnley away on Boxing Day, and Mohamed Salah will be looking to become the fifth Reds player to register 150 goals for the Anfield club, This Is Anfield reports.

The 31-year-old Egyptian forward is Liverpool’s top scorer this season with 13 Premier League goals and one more goal against Vincent Kompany’s team will see the striker enter the history books again.

Liverpool picked up 23 points away from home in the whole of the 2022-23 league campaign. So far, they have accrued 16 points from nine league away games this season.

Salah sends message to war victims

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Mohamed Salah had ‘let fans down’ by sharing a different Christmas post instead of his usual family photos, which received strong criticisms from Muslims.

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The Egyptian is one of the leading Muslim figures in sport but has shown he is a tolerant and accommodating person by relating freely with people regardless of religion and race.

On the 24th day of December of every year, he shares his family photos in matching pyjamas behind a Christmas tree to celebrate the Christian holiday.