A chant for Mohamed Salah by Trabzonspor supporters has prompted a religious debate in Turkey after Islamic researcher Ihsan Senocak called for it to be stopped immediately.
The supporters chant “Allah Allah, Mohamed Salah” after the Egyptian forward scores, but Senocak said the use of religious language in the stands was inappropriate and warned fans against repeating it.
According to Turkish website Haberler, Senocak highlighted Trabzon’s religious and scholarly heritage while criticising the chant.
“What is Trabzon? It is the home of scholars, is it not?” he said.
Speaking as someone from the city, he added: “How can tens of thousands of people in Trabzon, which draws its honour from Islam and faith, chant ‘Allah Allah, Mohamed Salah’? Where did you get this from?”
Senocak then directly urged Trabzonspor supporters to abandon the chant.
“Stop this immediately. You will bring God’s anger upon us. Calamities and trials will befall us,” he said.
His comments have led to widespread discussion and debate on social media in recent days, with the controversy focusing on whether expressions with religious significance should be used as part of football support.
Salah moved to Trabzonspor on a free transfer last summer in a deal that caused major attention across Turkey.
