\u201cIs it time for football to be fair?\u201d asked Egypt boss\u00a0Hossam Hassan in a tardy attempt to guilt-trip the\u00a0100 journalists from the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations into voting for Mohamed Salah as their Ballon d\u2019Or winner Monday.<\/p>\n
Former teammate and ex-Tottenham striker Mido later made the very same suggestion of impartiality among the decision-makers, urging them to \u201cbe fair to him just for one time and make it happen this year\u201d.<\/p>\n
If this was indeed an award based upon \u201chardships encountered\u201d<\/a><\/strong>, the \u201csize of the challenges you overcome\u201d or the positive consequences of an African footballer winning the gong for the just the second time after George Weah in 1995, then sure, give it to Salah.<\/p>\n But the Ballon d\u2019Or has never been, nor will ever be about that.\u00a0It\u2019s based on three main criteria: individual performances, team achievements and fair play. Winning the Premier League while scoring 29 goals and claiming 18 assists was brilliant, but it was never going to be enough.<\/p>\n His bid ended when he failed to score in either of Liverpool\u2019s last 16 Champions League games in defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. Without an Africa Cup of Nations to vie for, he had to win the biggest club competition.<\/p>\n The talisman of the team who wins that gong ordinarily claims the greatest personal prize. And so it proved again, as Ousmane Dembele pipped Lamine Yamal to top spot, with PSG teammate Vitinha claiming third spot and Salah behind him in fourth.<\/p>\n Salah can truly put the impartiality and perceived prejudices of those football journalists to the test in 2026. Anything like his weight of goal contributions for Liverpool in another Premier League title win\u00a0and\u00a0Champions League victory and he would be nailed on.<\/p>\n MORE LIVERPOOL COVERAGE ON F365\u2026<\/strong> But assuming he wins the former and not the latter, leading Egypt to Africa Cup of Nations glory this winter offers an opportunity for Salah to put pressure on those who discriminate between major global tournaments, like Jamie Carragher.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the problem is the fact he\u2019s with Egypt,\u201d Carragher said when assessing Salah\u2019s Ballon d\u2019Or chances back in February. \u201cAnd he\u2019s probably not playing in the major tournament as such, or maybe got a great chance of winning, I think it\u2019s either the Champions League or the major tournament. Normally, the player who excels in that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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