« Ce tournoi a été arrangé » : L'Égypte saisit officiellement la FIFA pour...
Egypt is furious after its disappointing 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the round of 16 of the World Cup. According to reports from the Argentinian media outlet TyC Sports, the Egyptian Football Association has filed a formal complaint with FIFA to protest the refereeing of Frenchman François Letexier and is demanding a thorough investigation.
The Pharaohs are crying foul and pointing to two major decisions that turned the game around. First, they are protesting the disallowed goal by Mostafa Ziko in the 58th minute, due to a foul by Marwan Attia that led to the counter-attack. Second, the Egyptians are deploring a blatant foul on Mohamed Salah that went unpunished—and was not reviewed by VAR—at the very start of the move that led to Argentina's third goal, scored by Enzo Fernandez.
These two incidents sparked outrage on the Egyptian bench, leading to the expulsion of a member of the coaching staff, Saafan Elsaghir, during stoppage time. Faced with what it described as "decisive errors," the federation, through its president Hany Abo Rida, officially requested that François Letexier and his assistants be suspended for the remainder of the tournament.
"This tournament was fixed": the Pharaohs launch a scathing attack
After the final whistle, coach Hossam Hassan criticized the refereeing in an interview with beIN Sports.
"We were the best. What happened was neither fair nor equitable. One of our goals was disallowed and we don't know why. We were very close to leading 3-1."
The coach went even further in his accusations, implying biased refereeing to favor the reigning world champions: "Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition? Perhaps they wanted Messi to remain in contention? In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. This is an undeserved victory for Argentina. Once I return to my country, I will no longer watch the World Cup, because there is no justice in this competition."
A feeling of frustration shared by striker Mostafa Ziko, who uttered a loaded statement on the BBC: "The injustice was clear. We did a good job at the start of the match. But it's certain that this tournament was fixed."
From a purely sporting perspective, the scenario proved cruel for Egypt. The Pharaohs were leading brilliantly 2-0 and seemed destined for the quarter-finals before collapsing completely in the last ten minutes of the match. Argentina turned the game around by conceding three goals in quick succession from Cristian Romero (79th minute), Lionel Messi (83rd minute), and Enzo Fernandez (90+3).
Thanks to this last-minute victory, Argentina continues its journey and will face Switzerland in the next round, this Sunday in Kansas City.
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