Egypt have filed a formal complaint with FIFA following their World Cup defeat to Argentina, demanding the officials at the heart of the controversy be excluded from the remainder of the competition. The defending champions were on the brink of a last-16 exit in Atlanta on Tuesday before staging a remarkable comeback, scoring three goals in the final 11 minutes through Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi, and Enzo Fernandez to secure a 3-2 victory and set up a quarter-final against Switzerland.
Controversial incidents in the match
Egypt's complaint centers on two key incidents that occurred moments before Argentina's third goal. First, Julian Alvarez tackled Mohamed Salah inside the penalty box, appearing to catch his foot before taking the ball. Immediately after, Alexis Mac Allister appeared to pull Hamdi Fathy. VAR did not check either incident, and Argentina scored shortly after. Egypt also had a goal disallowed earlier in the game after a VAR review deemed Lisandro Martinez had been fouled in the build-up.
According to Argentina's TYC Sports, Egyptian Football Association president Hany Abo Rida has demanded a formal investigation into the refereeing decisions. He has specifically requested that match official Francois Letexier and his team be excluded from refereeing for the rest of the World Cup. FIFA has yet to make a decision on the complaint.
Egyptian players and coach launch fierce criticism
Egyptian players and coaching staff have accused the officials and FIFA of favouring the defending world champions. Zico, whose goal was disallowed before he scored again in the second half, said: "The referee wasn't good, he was unfair. His injustice was clear. He persecuted us from the start of the match. He doesn't want us to win. It was a rigged game. It wasn't our fault. That referee… it seems like this match was rigged. Congratulations to Argentina on another World Cup, it seems."
Head coach Hossam Hassam launched an extraordinary attack on match officials and FIFA, accusing them of going to extreme lengths to "keep Messi" in the competition. "We looked better than the reigning champions – better in everything – but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it," he said. "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."
Allegations of bias and unfair treatment
Hassam continued: "There seem to be pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome. We were objecting to the selection of the referee because of the French situation [Argentina beat France in the 2022 World Cup final], but everybody has to suffer at some point and we suffered. We haven't seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out, it was not even checked by the VAR, and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed. We have all seen the shirt pulled back [by Mac Allister] and not even a VAR check. Life is unfair, normal life is unfair, so why is there no fairness in sports? I'm not convinced by this outcome and the way things unfolded in this match. I want to put it in beautiful words and say hard luck, but we have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice."
Potential England clash looms
Should Argentina defeat Switzerland in the quarter-finals, they could face England in the semi-finals if the Three Lions beat Norway on Saturday. The controversy surrounding Egypt's defeat has added further tension to Argentina's campaign as they seek to defend their World Cup title.
