The Egyptian Football Association lodged an official complaint with FIFA on Wednesday, demanding an investigation into referee François Letexier and his crew after controversial decisions in Egypt's 3-2 round-of-16 defeat against Argentina in Atlanta.
Egyptian officials requested that the French refereeing team be barred from officiating any further World Cup matches.
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The complaints centered on a disallowed goal and a denied penalty appeal that contributed to Egypt squandering a 2-0 lead.
Mostafa Ziko had a goal overturned by VAR due to a foul committed 18 seconds earlier.
A subsequent challenge on Mohamed Salah in the box went unpunished before Argentina scored the late winning goal.
Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan expressed immense frustration and heavily criticized the officiating in his post-match press conference.
"Er is ons onrecht aangedaan," Hassan said. He further alleged that the outcome had been completely compromised by the refereeing staff.
"Dit was overduidelijk een vervalste wedstrijd en de hele wereld heeft het gezien," he added.
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Egypt winger Mostafa Ziko also expressed emotional distress, implying external factors influenced the tournament's integrity. "Het is duidelijk dat het toernooi gemanipuleerd is," Ziko said.
He directed sarcastic congratulations toward the reigning world champions: "Gefeliciteerd met de wereldtitel, Argentinië. De wereldbeker is duidelijk voorbestemd voor jullie."
In contrast, Argentina captain Lionel Messi focused on his own performance after scoring his 21st career World Cup goal.
"Maar gelukkig had God weer iets speciaals voor mij in petto," Messi said.
Former Premier League referee Graham Scott provided analysis via The Athletic, stating that Ziko's disallowed goal should have stood because the contact was normal.
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However, former referee Chris Foy defended the overall officiating standard in a column for The Guardian. "Scheidsrechter zijn niet perfect," Foy said.
