Wealth, adulation and fame and fortune are a potent combination and have led to the downfall of many a young person. Footballers in particular are always in the public eye. Success on the field can quickly lead to inflated egos and unexpected wealth to a disastrous hedonistic lifestyle. Liverpool’s appearance in the Champions League final in Kiev propelled the whole team and in particular Mo Salah into the limelight; hasn’t he come out of it well! Some of his goals leading up to the final were stunning, out of the top drawer, and his tally of 44 goals this season is up there with the great Ian Rush.

More importantly, Salah is obviously a great guy. He works really hard to be the best he can be. He is a good team player. He does not appear to be full of his own self-importance. He has maintained his links with his town in Egypt and boyhood family and friends. More impressive still is the money he is providing to build a new school for a new generation in his home town. He is also a practising Muslim who takes his faith seriously; oh and he smiles a lot except that is when he had to leave the field half way through the final with injury where his smile turned to tears. His premature removal from the game was a shame both for Liverpool and the excitement of the occasion.

But what an admirable role model Mo Salah is, not only for young people growing up in Egypt, but also for all football fans around the world and in particular young Muslims in the UK who sometimes feel excluded from society. At a time when racism and anti-Islamic prejudices are on the rise, isn’t it great to have someone of his stature to demonstrate what faith is capable of inspiring.

This year has sadly seen the death of Cyrille Regis, one of the first Black players to grace the top echelons of the Football League. He joined West Bromwich Albion in May 1977 and went on to 614 league appearances and scored 158 league goals, most prolifically at West Bromwich Albion and Coventry City. Regis also won five England Caps. Perhaps he should have won more but this was the era of racial prejudice and Regis undoubtedly suffered as a black player.

I remember attendances at Everton and Liverpool in the 80s and early 90s when racial jeers from the terraces rang out on a regular basis. It made me wonder, why I was there at all and for a long while I stopped attending football matches. Thank God that that is largely a thing of the past in the UK. But in the Ukraine and Eastern Europe, the atmosphere is still very different. Cyrille Regis and many like him including Howard Gayle, whose family I knew in Toxteth, were role models for many future black players who have contributed to greater acceptance of a multi-racial society through a diverse England football squad.

Megan Markel has now joined our Royal Family. This will certainly not harm the family genes. For black members of our society, this is a symbolic recognition that our society can really become colour blind. There is still prejudice and disadvantage due to racial stereotyping of the worst kind but even the British Aristocracy is changing. Let’s hope that Megan and Harry will be powerful role models for a new generation fed up of the prejudices of the past.

So here’s to Mo Salah and his multi-racial and multi-faith colleagues who make up the very diverse Liverpool team. He is a worthy role model for us all; humble, true to his past, true to his family, true to his faith and even more important true to himself. He really is making a positive difference on and off the field.