Vote for Mohamed Salah Awarded to Lionel Messi in The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019? Sudan Coach Alleges FIFA Of Tampering

Sudan football coach Zdravko Lugarisic has accused FIFA of vote tampering for The Best FIFA Award 2019 which was won by Argentina’s Lionel Messi. According to him, the coach voted for Mohamed Salah but the vote eventually went to the Barcelona star. Zdravko Lugarisic even shared the picture of his vote on social media. Similar claims were made by Egypt national team star Ahmad Elmohamady, who claimed to have voted for Salah but his vote wasn’t registered. Mohamed Salah at Loggerheads with Egyptian Football for Failing to Vote for FIFA's The Best 2019.

Mohamed Salah did not make it to the top three and was ousted even before the start of the ceremony. Mo Salah’s Liverpool colleague Virgil van Dijk made it to the top three along with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. It was said that it was Virgil van Dijk who was expected to win the award but in the end, it was the Barcelona star who walked away with the gong. For now, check out the picture shared by Zdravko Lugarisic on social media.

Lionel Messi finished with 46 ranking points, whereas Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk had 38 and CR7 had 36. "It has been a long time without winning an individual prize. It is good to have this award," Goal.com quoted Messi as saying. Messi had led Barcelona La Liga title last season, his 10th since joining the club. However, Cristiano Ronaldo's fans had disliked the fact that Messi went on to win the award and they trolled the Barcelona star.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 26, 2019 05:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).