Egypt have formally lodged a complaint with FIFA regarding the officiating in their World Cup quarter-final defeat to Argentina, calling for referee Francois Letexier and his French team to be removed from the remainder of the tournament. The Egyptian Football Association, led by president Hany Abo Rida, submitted the official request after two controversial decisions went against them in the 4-3 loss.
Disallowed goal and missed penalty spark outrage
Egypt had a second goal disallowed following a VAR review that deemed a foul occurred at the opposite end of the pitch before their strike. Crucially, a similar foul was overlooked in the build-up to Argentina's winning goal. Additionally, Egypt believed they should have been awarded a penalty moments before the decisive fifth goal when Mohamed Salah was brought down by Julian Alvarez inside the box.
Goalkeeper coach Saafan El-Sagheer was shown a red card during the heated touchline scenes, while manager Hossam Hassan had to be restrained from confronting the official. Speaking after the match, Hassan said: "Why isn't there any fairness in sport? In football? I do not want to try to put it nicely here with beautiful wording. We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice."
Allegations of tournament manipulation
Hassan suggested outside influences were at play, stating: "Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running. It could be a matter of marketing, they could want to make a World Cup with the champion of the last World Cup, they want Messi to exist." He also revealed he confronted Letexier after the final whistle, telling the official the performance had been "unfair."
Forward Zico went further in a live TV interview, alleging the tournament had been manipulated. "The referee was really not fair. Not fair. The referee was not fair," he said. "The injustice was clear. We did a good job in the early stages of the match. A 2-0 lead isn't enough to beat Argentina. It's clear that this tournament has been fixed."
Egypt demand investigation and removal of officials
The Egyptian federation is demanding an explanation and has called for an investigation into what they describe as controversial rulings. They have formally requested that Letexier and his team be withdrawn from the remainder of the World Cup. Argentina, the reigning champions, scored three times in the final 15 minutes to overturn a two-goal deficit, with Enzo Fernandez scoring the late winner.
