Artist defends Mo Salah statue in face of ridicule on social media
![A bronze statue of Liverpool striker Mo Salah on display in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Picture: Ayman Aref/AP](https://www.scotsman.com/webimg/legacy_elm_70619961.jpg?crop=3:2,smart&width=640&quality=65&enable=upscale)
![A bronze statue of Liverpool striker Mo Salah on display in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Picture: Ayman Aref/AP](/img/placeholder.png)
The statue depicts Salah with a disproportionately large head and small arms stretched in the celebratory pose the 26-year-old Egyptian from 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.
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Hide AdSalah, pictured right, 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 programme 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 criticised for its lack of a resemblance.