Egypt have demanded the match officiating team that took charge of yesterdays controversial defeat to Argentina be sent home from the World Cup. The North Africans were furious after a series of contentious calls went against them in the round-of-16 clash in Atlanta.Their main areas of complaint were the decision by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to disallow a goal from Mostafa Zico for an alleged foul on Lisandro Martinez at the other end of the field, Zico finishing a sweeping counter-attack with a brilliant finish over Emi Martinez.And then for VAR not intervening when they felt Mohamed Salah had been tripped in the Argentina area shortly before Enzo Fernandez nodded in the winner deep into injury-time.Egypt boss Hossam Hassan took aim at referee Francois Letexier after the game and the Egyptian FA have now lodged an official complaint with FIFA.It 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 statement added there had been blatant errors and [that the match officials had] insisted on not reviewing some of the footage.We demand the exclusion of the referee and the entire crew from the World Cup after investigating these mistakes. It also claimed there had been the crime of discrimination against the Egyptian national team.Table of ContentsEgypt boss Hassan claims World Cup is directed towards ArgentinaZico congratulates Argentina for winning another World CupEgypt boss Hassan claims World Cup is directed towards ArgentinaIt is unlikely Egypts complaints will lead to meaningful action, which will only serve to fuel Egypts sense of injustice further.Speaking last night, Hassan said the cup was directed towards Argentina.We havent seen respect or fair play, he told a press conference. A penalty was ruled out and a second [incident] that should have been checked for a penalty for us was not even checked by the VAR. A second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed.There seems to have been pressure on the Argentinian side on the referee that has brought about this outcome.Life is unfair. The world is unfair. OK, but why isnt there any fairness in sports? Im not convinced by this outcome and by the way things unfolded in this match.The referee is unfair, God is sufficient for me and the best disposer of affairs. Hes wasting the effort of an entire nation. The cup is directed towards Argentina.Zico congratulates Argentina for winning another World CupZico seemingly concurred with his coachs assessment.He told Canadian broadcaster TSN: It was not fair from the referee. It was really not fair, that was very clear. He wasted all of our efforts with his decisons. We were leading 2-0 and we cannot do anything, its all up to God.We are so sorry [to the people of Egypt]. I am so sorry. We wanted to make you all happy. It was not in the cards. It was the referee. Congratulations to Argentina on the second Cup. Topics Argentina National Football Team Egypt national football team Lionel Messi Add us as a preferred source on Google If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read World Cup 2026: Quarter-final predictions with Mbappe, Messi, Yamal and Haaland hoping to fire their teams to the last four Jon Fisher 8th July, 2026 My condolences to all those who hate Messi: Zlatan goes in hard on Ronaldo fans after watching Argentina comeback Jon Fisher 8th July, 2026 The cup is directed towards Argentina Egypt boss slams refereeing after dramatic World Cup exit Nicholas McGee 8th July, 2026 Messi calls World Cup result crazy as Argentina boss gives 12-second interview: Im sorry Ben Miller 7th July, 2026 Lionel Messi: World Cup 2026 playing schedule, fixtures, kick off times, where to watch, confirmed news updates and full Argentina squad Ben Miller 7th July, 2026 Argentina v Egypt: World Cup 2026 live text commentary, updates, goals and stats as it happened Jon Fisher 7th July, 2026
