Egypt Accuse Referees Of Double Standards After 3-2 World Cup Exit To Argentina

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) says it has lodged a complaint with FIFA and wants an investigation into what it calls “double standards” in refereeing in their World Cup last-16 defeat by Argentina in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Egypt were 1-0 up in the second half when VAR ruled out a goal by Mostafa Zico. The video assistant referee penalised Egypt midfielder Marwan Attia for stepping on Lisandro Martinez’s foot at the start of the move.

Egypt also felt Mohamed Salah was fouled in the Argentina penalty area just seconds before the reigning champions broke away to score a stoppage-time winner. Argentina won the match 3-2.

An EFA statement read: “Hany Abou Rida, president of the Egyptian football federation, filed a complaint with FIFA, demanding an investigation into the French referee Francois Letexier after the serious refereeing mistakes committed by the team of referees and double standards, which caused the Egypt team to lose the match and leave the World Cup.”

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has called for an investigation into the match officials and video assistant referees, citing what it described as “blatant errors” and a refusal to review some of the footage.

It has “demanded the exclusion of the referee and the entire crew from the World Cup” once these mistakes have been investigated. The EFA also accused officials of “discrimination against the Egyptian national team”.

Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who could be playing in his final World Cup, set up their first goal in the 79th minute and scored an 83rd-minute equaliser.

After the match, Egypt manager Hossam Hassan said his side had been “treated unfairly” and “suffered injustice”.

“We looked better than the reigning champion – better in everything -, but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it,” Hassan said in the post-match press conference.

“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.

“In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champion received support at every level”.

Argentina completed the comeback after trailing 2-0 with 11 minutes of normal time left, securing a 3-2 win and a place in the quarter-finals.

Argentina will now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri.