Barcelona star Lionel Messi is facing criticism for donating a pair of football boots to an Egyptian charity after a recent interview with MBC's Mona El-Sharkawy.
As reported by Sport, shoes are regarded as "unclean objects" in Arab countries, and some Egyptians took offence to the gesture. A spokesman for the Egyptian Football Association commented: "We don't need his work shoes and we don't need charity. Give your shoes to your country, Argentina is full of poverty."
TV presenter Said Hasasin also criticised the Barcelona star: "The Egyptians have never been so humiliated during our 7,000 years of civilisation.