Egypt's Mostafa Ziko launched an extraordinary attack on the officiating after his side's dramatic 3-2 World Cup last-16 defeat to Argentina in Atlanta, claiming the match was rigged in favour of the holders. The reigning champions trailed 2-0 but scored three unanswered goals to keep their back-to-back World Cup hopes alive, sparking fury in the Egyptian camp.
Ziko, who had scored Egypt's second goal, did not hold back in his assessment. "The referee wasn't good, he was unfair. His injustice was clear," he said. "It was a rigged game. It wasn't our fault. That referee… it seems like this match was rigged. We were winning 2-0, and he kept coming at us. Congratulations to Argentina on another World Cup, it seems."
“Egypt star Mostafa Ziko claims World Cup defeat by Argentina was rigged after controversial VAR decisions.”
Controversy centred on two key VAR decisions. Egypt had a goal ruled out for a foul on Lisandro Martinez in the build-up, while a penalty claim was waved away moments before Argentina's winning goal. Ziko insisted the officials had persecuted his side from the start, but added they never thought the game was decided beforehand: "We knew we were facing the reigning world champions. But if they had won solely on their own merits it would have been very different."
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan also took aim at referee performance. "We haven't seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out and a second incident that should have been checked for a penalty was not even checked by the VAR. A second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed," he said. "There seems to have been pressure on the Argentinian side on the referee that has brought about this outcome."
Hassan continued: "Life is unfair. The world is unfair. OK, but why isn't there any fairness in sports? I'm not convinced by this outcome. The referee is unfair, God is sufficient for me and the best disposer of affairs. He's wasting the effort of an entire nation. The cup is directed towards Argentina."
Meanwhile, Argentina's Lionel Messi was seen in tears after leading the astonishing comeback, the Standard reported, as the holders booked a quarter-final berth. Egypt, having been two goals ahead, were left to ponder what might have been as Ziko's claims of a rigged tournament cast a shadow over Argentina's triumph.