Mohamed Salah Left out of FIFA FIFPRO World XI Nominations, Drawing Heated Response

• Egypt and Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah was contentiously omitted from the 2021 FIFA FIFPRO World XI
• This is despite him being the most in-form player in European football, though the other usual suspects are on the 23-man shortlist
• South African, and indeed, African social media observers were united in condemning Salah's exclusion

Egyptian international and Liverpool maestro Mohamed Salah was left out of the 2021 FIFA FIFPRO World XI nomination, raising the ire of many a football fan.

Arguably the most in-form player in Europe currently, Salah was excluded from a star-studded 23-man shortlist that excluded the usual suspects like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski.

Each year, 65 000 professional football players worldwide from 67 national players' associations are asked by FIFPRO to vote for a men's and women's World XI, whether it's for themselves or for their peers. The list is whittled down to 23-man and 23-woman shortlists from which the most outstanding 11 players of the year are chosen.

Kaizer Chiefs Twitter Gives Its Verdict: Amakhosi Are Playing Much Better Without Coach Baxter

Football

Salah's snub comes weeks after Bayern Munich and Poland goal-machine Robert Lewandowski was surprisingly snubbed for the Ballon d'Or award given to the best men's player in the world.

The snub drew condemnation and derision from football fans.

Kagiso Mashy said:

"Salah must be there every year. Thats how good he is... Lukaku really?? Ai FIFA!"

Sirobakeng Nthutang said:

"I don't think FIFA should be taken seriously. Anything fifa does for me its a joke...its made by Europeans for the Europeans and that will always be that"

Thomas Sithole said:

"Why wasting time,all eleven players must be represented by Messi. They believe that everything soccer is Messi,they must go ahead and do that."

Kulani Maswanganyi said:

"I thought without Sepp Blatter,things might change instead the worse people are sitting comfortably on the throne driving the entire football organisation with hate and racism."

Hashtag #IStandwithLewisHamilton continues trending

Mzansi Reacts to Max Verstappen/Lewis Hamilton Drama Which Has Set Motor Racing on Fire

Football

Briefly News reported that #IStandWithLewisHamilton after the drama of the Dubai F1 Grand Prix.

Red Bull racing's Max Verstappen and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton headed into the final race of the season on the same level of points. Never before had this happened, with the two tied on exactly 369.5 points each.

A little-known technicality allowed Verstappen to overtake Hamilton in the last lap of the race.