Mohamed Salah to wear No 74 shirt during loan spell from Chelsea in memory of Port Said victims

Egyptian winger has gone on loan to Fiorentina

Mohamed Salah (GETTY IMAGES)

Mohamed Salah has paid tribute to the victims of the Port Said disaster by choosing to wear the No 74 shirt during his loan spell at Fiorentina.

The Egyptian winger has gone on loan to the Serie A side as part of the move that saw Juan Cuadrado arrive at Chelsea in a £26.1m deal on transfer deadline day.

The number he will wear at his new club is 74, the number of people who lost their lives when crowd trouble erupted during a top-tier game at Port Said stadium in Egypt. The trouble began minutes after the game in 2012 with fans of local side al-Masry invading the pitch and hurling stones and fireworks at visiting supporters from Cairo club al-Ahly. It was the worst-ever football disaster in the north African country.

Ironically, it was reported that Cuadrado wanted to wear the same shirt number at Chelsea. However, the reasons for the Colombian were different, with reports suggesting he wanted them because the two digits add up to 11, his favourite number. However, the World Cup star has ended up with the No 23 shirt at Stamford Bridge.