The Egyptian Football Association has asked Fifa to remove the officials who handled their last-16 World Cup defeat against Argentina from the tournament.
The EFA lodged a formal complaint with football’s world governing body, demanding an investigation into what it described as “double standards” of officiating during the match in Atlanta.
Egypt were leading 1-0 in the second half when VAR ruled out a goal by Mostafa Zico after midfielder Marwan Attia was penalised for stepping on Lisandro Martinez’s foot at the start of the move.
The Egyptians also believed Mohamed Salah was fouled inside the Argentina penalty area in the moments before the reigning champions broke forward to score a stoppage-time winner in a 3-2 victory.
An EFA 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 association also called for a full review of the video technology officials, citing what it described as “blatant errors and insisting on not reviewing some of the footage” throughout the contest.
The EFA went further, demanding “the exclusion of the referee and the entire crew from the World Cup” and alleged “the crime of discrimination against the Egyptian national team” in its strongly worded statement.
Egypt have never reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup, making the circumstances of their exit all the more painful for players, officials, and supporters.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who could be playing in his final World Cup, set up their first goal in the 79th minute before scoring an 83rd-minute equaliser to help turn the tie around.
Egypt manager Hossam Hassan was furious after the final whistle, insisting his team had been “treated unfairly” and had “suffered injustice” at the hands of the officials throughout the match.
Hassan went on to question whether match officials had been influenced by a desire to keep the world champions in the competition, saying: “Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.”
Zico, whose disallowed goal proved such a pivotal moment in the tie, was equally scathing in his post-match assessment of how proceedings had been handled.
He said: “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 now progress to face Switzerland in Kansas City on Saturday, as Messi and his teammates look to continue their defence of the World Cup title.
