MOSCOW: Budweiser say they “respect the religious beliefs” of all players after Egyptian keeper Mohamed Elshenawy declined his man-of-the-match award sponsored by the American beer giant at the World Cup.
Elshenawy was nominated after his stoic efforts holding off Uruguay striker Luis Suarez in Egypt’s 1-0 defeat to the South Americans in their World Cup opener on Friday.
But the 29-year-old turned down the award due to his Muslim faith.
Budweiser told AFP on Monday: “We respect the religious beliefs of all players and worked with FIFA to put a process in place for Man of The Match winners who wish to not be featured with the Budweiser branding for religious reasons.
“Official Man of The Match winners who decline the Bud trophy for religious reasons will still receive full honors, such as Mohamed Elshenawy did, and we congratulate him on his accomplishment.”
Brewery on backfoot after Egyptian keeper declines Man of the Match award
Brewery on backfoot after Egyptian keeper declines Man of the Match award
Musk’s X to open source new algorithm in seven days
Elon Musk said on Saturday that social media platform X will open its new algorithm, including all code for organic and advertising post recommendations, to the public in seven days.
“This will be repeated every 4 weeks, with comprehensive developer notes, to help you understand what changed,” he said in his X post.
Earlier this week, the European Commission decided to extend a retention order sent to X last year, which related to algorithms and dissemination of illegal content, prolonging it to the end of 2026, spokesperson Thomas Regnier told reporters on Thursday.
In July 2025, Paris prosecutors investigated the social media platform for suspected algorithmic bias and fraudulent data extraction, which Musk’s X called a “politically-motivated criminal investigation” that threatens its users’ free speech.
