The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has formally petitioned FIFA to remove the officiating crew from the World Cup following Egypt’s last‑16 loss to Argentina, alleging “double standards” in refereeing decisions.
The EFA confirmed it had submitted a complaint to football’s world governing body, calling for an inquiry into what it described as serious errors during the match.
Egypt, leading 1‑0 in the second half, saw a goal by Mostafa Zico disallowed after midfielder Marwan Attia was judged to have stepped on Lisandro Martinez’s foot in the build‑up. Later, Egyptian players believed Mohamed Salah was fouled in Argentina’s penalty area seconds before the defending champions broke away to score a stoppage‑time winner, sealing a 3‑2 victory.
An official 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 EFA insisted that the refereeing team and VAR officials committed “blatant errors and [were] insisting on not reviewing some of the footage.” It further “demanded the exclusion of the referee and the entire crew from the World Cup after investigating these mistakes” and accused them of “the crime of discrimination against the Egyptian national team.”
Egypt, who have never reached the quarter‑finals of the World Cup, were undone by Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who set up the equaliser in the 79th minute and scored himself in the 83rd.
After the match, Egypt manager Hossam Hassan said his side had been “treated unfairly” and had “suffered injustice.” He added: “Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.”
Zico echoed the frustration: “The referee was really unfair. The injustice was clear. There’s been an unfairness right from the start of the match. It is clear that this tournament has been fixed.”
Argentina will face Switzerland in Kansas City on Saturday (02:00 BST, Sunday). FIFA has yet to respond to the complaint.
Protests against referees at the World Cup rarely succeed. At Qatar 2022, France lodged a protest after a stoppage‑time goal was ruled out against Tunisia, but FIFA dismissed the appeal with a brief statement and no explanation.
Analysts note that officiating decisions are often subjective, and while mistakes occur, they do not necessarily imply bias. Complaints raised in the aftermath of defeat typically fade, with FIFA seldom revisiting them publicly.
Source: BBC
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