Egypt Ask FIFA to Remove Referee After Argentina World Cup Defeat

Egypt have asked FIFA to remove the officials involved in their World Cup last-16 defeat to Argentina from the rest of the tournament.

The Egyptian Football Association has formally complained to FIFA following their 3-2 defeat to Argentina in Atlanta, urging an investigation into what they described as double standards in the officiating.

At the heart of Egypt’s complaint are two key moments in the second half. With Egypt leading 1-0, Mostafa Zico thought he had doubled their advantage, only for VAR to intervene and rule out the goal after Marwan Attia was penalised for a foul on Lisandro Martinez earlier in the build-up.

Egypt also believed Mohamed Salah should have been awarded a late penalty, just before Argentina broke away to score their stoppage-time winner.

The EFA is now calling for FIFA to investigate French referee Francois Letexier, his assistants and the VAR officials involved.

A statement from the Egyptian FA said president Hany Abou Rida had filed a complaint with FIFA “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 went further, accusing the officials of blatant errors and criticising what they saw as a refusal to review key footage. They have asked for the referee and his team to be removed from the tournament, pending an investigation.

The strength of Egypt’s statement underlines the frustration within the camp after a match they felt could have taken them to a first-ever World Cup quarter-final.

Egypt have never reached the last eight at a World Cup, and they were just minutes away from a landmark result against the reigning champions before Argentina’s late turnaround.

Lionel Messi was at the heart of Argentina’s comeback, setting up their first goal in the 79th minute and then scoring the equaliser just four minutes later. Argentina completed the turnaround with a stoppage-time winner to book their place in the quarter-finals.

Egypt manager Hossam Hassan said after the game that his side had been “treated unfairly” and had “suffered injustice.”

He also suggested that Argentina’s status may have influenced how the match was handled.

“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition,” Hassan said. “Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.”

Zico was even stronger in his post-match criticism, saying Egypt had been treated unfairly “right from the start of the match.” He also claimed the tournament had been “fixed.”

While those comments are likely to attract attention given the seriousness of the allegations, the EFA’s formal complaint is centred on FIFA’s investigation into the officiating team and VAR decisions from the Argentina match.

Argentina progress to the next round, while Egypt’s World Cup ends with their exit still under scrutiny after a night of controversy.