Mohamed Salah may have caused Islamophobia in Liverpool to fall, study finds

Mohamed Salah may have caused Islamophobia in Liverpool to fall, study finds
Mohamed Salah may be responsible for a drop in Islamophobia in Liverpool, according to a new study.The Egyptian, a practising Muslim, has been worshipped by the red half of Merseyside following his Anfield arrival in June 2017.Getty Images - Getty2

Mohamed Salah has captured the hearts of Liverpool fans with his relentless goalscoring prowess

And research by Stanford University shows that, since then, anti-Muslim hate crimes have fallen by 18.9 per cent, while Islamophobic tweets by Liverpool fans have dropped by 50 per cent.No other offence has seen such a sizeable decrease in that time frame – and there is good reason to believe Salah’s presence has been a significant factor.The study argues that Salah’s friendly outward persona has helped ‘humanise’ the Muslim community and change prejudicial attitudes. The survey experiment suggests that these results may be driven by increased familiarity with Islam, the report reads.These findings suggest that positive exposure to outgroup celebrities can reveal new and humanising information about the group at large, reducing prejudiced attitudes and behaviours.Overall, we interpret these results to support the hypothesis that Salahs arrival at Liverpool FC caused a decrease in extreme acts of bigotry.Getty Images - Getty2

The Egyptian opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the Champions League final

The 26-year-old has scored 71 goals in 104 games for the club and celebrates by performing sujood, the Islamic act of prostration to God.Salah’s emergence last season led to chants celebrating the Egyptian’s Muslim identity, fuelling media speculation that his success was reducing Islamophobic attitudes among Liverpool fans.He was named in TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2019 in April – and his manager, Jurgen Klopp, says the forward is continually breaking down stereotypes.

LIVE ON talkSPORT

talkSPORT is your home of live football! Here's what's coming up on talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2...

• Portugal vs Switzerland (Wednesday, 7:45pm) talkSPORT
• Netherlands vs England (Thursday, 7:45pm) talkSPORT
• France vs South Korea (Friday, 8pm) talkSPORT
• Denmark vs Republic of Ireland (Friday, 7:45pm) talkSPORT 2
• Croatia vs Wales (Saturday, 2pm) talkSPORT
• England vs Scotland (Sunday, 5pm) talkSPORT

Hes a role model in so many different things. Its really, really nice to have him, and Sadio [Mane] as well, the Liverpool boss said.Both are Muslims and live that in a world where these things are very often discussed in a dangerous manner, where people think they are all like this or they are all like that.We know thats not true, but it is nice to have somebody around full of joy, full of love and to do what he is doing around his religion.

---

"If Mesut Ozil leaves in January, no Arsenal fan would shed a tear." @PiersMorgan says #AFC don't need 'sick note' star ozil-january-arsenal-piers-morgan
Post-Match Thread: Arsenal 5-2 Benfica : Gunners

---

Arsenal 1-0 Huddersfield: Player ratings as Lucas Torreira's

---

The defining moments from Marcelo Bielsa's first year at Leeds United as club get ready to go again. As ever with Leeds United, it's been quite a ride

---

talkSPORT presenter Adrian Durham has labelled Celtic captain Scott Brown 'embarrassing' for the way he celebrated his late winner against Kilmarnock on Sunday. The Scotland international was guilty of producing a rather enthusiastic response to his scrappy goal at Rugby Park, and Durham has
Ex-Celtic star Simon Donnelly mocks Adrian Durham over Scott

---

Yeovil were relegated to the National League after throwing away a two-goal lead at Northampton on a dramatic day at the foot of League Two. The Glovers looked on course to boost their survival bid after goals from Tristan Abrahams and Jake Gray in the opening 24 minutes put them in control.
League Two: Yeovil drop out of the Football League after

---

Rafael Benitez says contract talks with Newcastle have NOT advanced and urges the club to decide whether to; Premier League round-up: Manchester City get revenge on Tottenham, West Ham and Leicester play out exciting; Newcastle United 3-1 Southampton: Ayoze Perez treble helps Rafael Benitez's men get past struggling Saints

---

Since 2016-17 away fans in the Premier League have not had to pay more than £30 for a match ticket. Premier League clubs have unanimously agreed to continue the £30 cap on away ticket prices for
Tickets Premier League | Buy EPL Tickets here.
AD
intl.stubhub.com/Football/Tickets
Report Ad
premier League is so much better in person. Be there.

---

It has been two days since we learned the sad news of Billy McNeill's passing. Celtic's greatest ever captain passed away peacefully on Monday night surrounded by his loved ones with the official announcement coming Tuesday morning

---

Jan 07, 2019 · Maurizio Sarri insists he now views Callum Hudson-Odoi as being at the same level as Willian and Pedro, the winger's more senior team-mates, and has urged the 18 year-old to commit his long-term
Sarri insists Hudson-Odoi must 'respect' Chelsea - goal.com

---

The Belgian is reportedly on his way out of Old Trafford with a move to Antonio Conte's Inter Milan mooted kit launch fuelling rumours he will leave target Rashford, Chelsea consider
Chelsea Transfer News: Mauro Icardi decision made by Inter

---

PREVIEW Tottenham vs Liverpool final: TV channel, live stream FREE, kick-off time and team news for Champions League 2019. Villa could face points deduction in the Premier League for breaking
Chelsea Matches Live Stream Online - totalsportek.com

---

Patrick Bamford's early goal proved enough for Leeds to boost their hopes of automatic promotion from the Championship with a 1-0 win at Bristol City. The visitors took a ninth minute lead when
Championship - talkSPORT

---

Harry Kane has said England must take their opportunity to win the UEFA Nations League after reaching the semifinals next summer. England came from behind to beat World Cup finalists Croatia 2-1
Uefa Nations League Finals LIVE: England vs Netherlands plus

---