According to The National, Egypt has launched a scathing attack on FIFA and match officials, alleging “blatant injustice” and favoritism towards Argentina and Lionel Messi following their dramatic 3-2 defeat in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16.
As reported by The National, Egypt surrendered a 2-0 lead in the closing stages as Argentina scored three times in the final 14 minutes to book their place in the quarter-finals. However, the match has been overshadowed by controversy after a series of disputed refereeing decisions involving French official Francois Letexier.
The biggest flashpoint came when Mostafa Zico appeared to have extended Egypt’s advantage, only for VAR to intervene and rule the goal out for a foul on Lisandro Martinez earlier in the build-up. Egypt’s frustration intensified later in the match when officials reportedly declined to review a similar challenge on Mohamed Salah inside Argentina’s penalty area shortly before Enzo Fernandez netted the dramatic stoppage-time winner.
Speaking after the match, Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan questioned whether commercial interests had influenced the outcome.
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“We had the right to win and I don’t want to say ‘hard luck’ to us – no, we leave with honour, but the final result is a far cry from the ‘fair play’ that Fifa talks about,” Hassan told beIN Sports, according to The National.
He added: “Maybe it’s a marketing thing. Maybe they want to keep the reigning World Cup champions to stay in the competition; they want to keep [Lionel] Messi in the competition.”
Mostafa Zico also condemned the officiating, accusing the referee of unfair treatment throughout the contest.
“The referee is not fair. He is unjust; it’s just blatant injustice. He’s throwing away the hard work of an entire nation. From the start of the match, he was coming at us, like it’s unacceptable for us to be beating Argentina 2-0. The tournament is rigged,” Zico said, as quoted by The National.
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According to The National, criticism extended beyond the Egypt camp. Former Egypt international Mohamed Aboutrika questioned FIFA’s credibility, referencing the controversy surrounding US striker Folarin Balogun’s suspended red-card ban after intervention from then-US President Donald Trump, describing FIFA’s handling of such matters as “telephone play.”
Former Egypt and Tottenham striker Mido also suggested financial considerations may have influenced events, arguing FIFA would have risked losing significant sponsorship revenue had Argentina and Messi been eliminated from the tournament.
Despite the heartbreaking defeat, goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir emerged as one of Egypt’s standout performers. As highlighted by The National, he finished the tournament with 14 saves and became just the fifth goalkeeper in World Cup history to save two penalties in a single tournament, excluding penalty shootouts.
The defeat also prompted fresh speculation over Mohamed Salah’s international future. However, Aboutrika urged the Liverpool forward not to make any immediate decisions.
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“Calm down. We need you. We have an Afcon and another World Cup coming up. Forget about the ‘last dance’ talk. Egypt doesn’t produce a Mohamed Salah every day. So he shouldn’t take any rash decisions,” Aboutrika said, according to The National.
Egypt’s dramatic World Cup exit has sparked renewed debate over refereeing standards, VAR consistency and the influence of commercial interests in international football. While Argentina advances to the quarter-finals, the fallout from the controversial encounter continues to dominate headlines.
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