Messi's boots make Egyptians cry foul

Messi's donation provoked outrage on social media rather than gratitude

 

The world's most famous footballer donates a pair of his boots to a charity auction, what's not to like? Plenty it seems, depending on the cultural context, as Barcelona star Lionel Messi has been discovering after his generous gesture managed to upset some Egyptians.

It was only a few weeks ago that Messi was widely praised for making a young fan's dream come true when he sent a shirt and a football to a young Afghan boy.

However, when the player made a similarly well-intentioned gift on Egyptian TV this week it was regarded by some as a national insult. During a TV interview with the "Yes I am Famous" show, broadcast on MBC's Misr Channel, the Argentine footballer told the presenter he would like to donate his football boots to be auctioned off for charity.
What Messi seems to have failed to appreciate is that in Egypt and other Arab countries in the region shoes can be used as a symbol of disrespect or insult. So some Egyptians took offence and turned to social media to express their anger.
"This is the most disgusting. He was paid thousands of dollars and at the end he donated his shoes and the stupid presenter was happy," tweeted one user called @Sala77ar7ash. Another user called @sulimanahmad670 commented: "Egypt's name is greater than Messi's shoes. This is a big insult to Egypt," wrote @sulimanahmad670.
In Arab culture, showing the soles of your shoes can be seen as especially insulting. The Arabic expression "to hit someone with a shoe" is offensive. You might remember the case of Iraqi journalist Muntasir al-Zaydi, who threw his shoes at President George W Bush in protest at a press conference in Baghdad in 2008.