Egypt have made an official complaint to Fifa demanding the expulsion of the referees who officiated their 3-2 World Cup last-16 defeat to Argentina, alleging “serious refereeing mistakes” and “double standards” in favour of the holders.
Coach Hossam Hassan did not hold back after his side let a 2-0 lead slip with 11 minutes to play, eventually losing to a stoppage-time winner. “We were treated unfairly,” he said. “We suffered injustice. Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.”
“Egypt officially complain to Fifa, demanding referees be removed after controversial Argentina defeat”
The African nation’s fury centres on French referee Francois Letexier and his team. Egypt had a goal ruled out by VAR after Marwan Attia was penalised for stepping on Lisandro Martinez’s foot at the start of the move. Mostafa Zico’s brilliant strike was chalked off. “They put their exit down to serious refereeing mistakes and double standards,” read the official line.
Egypt also believe they were denied two penalties before Enzo Fernandez headed the winner. Hamdi Fathy claimed he was held by Alexis Mac Allister, while Mohamed Salah said he was tripped by Julian Alvarez. Replays were unclear, though the Salah incident bore similarities to the Martinez foul – foot-on-foot contact – but outside the box would have been judged a free-kick, not a penalty.
“Controversial? Absolutely,” noted one pundit. But Egypt’s complaint is formal: they want the officials kicked out of the tournament. Argentina, meanwhile, had already needed a dramatic comeback against Cape Verde in the previous round, winning 3-2. The world champions are throwing everything at their title defence, but the bitterness of their latest victory may linger long after the final whistle.
