The Egyptian Football Association has reportedly lodged a formal complaint with FIFA against French referee François Letexier and his team following Tuesday’s World Cup Round of 16 draw. Argentina snatched victory from a 2-0 deficit in the final minutes of the match, but a controversial refereeing decision cast a shadow on their victory.
Egypt had a goal ruled out for a foul before taking a 2-0 lead, but there was a question mark over whether Egypt would be awarded a penalty in Argentina’s eventual winner. The players and coaching team were shocked by the decision and the FA took drastic action as a result.
Egyptian journalist Ismael Mahmoud reported that president Hany Abo Rida had lodged a formal complaint against the match officials. He is said to have requested an invitation and demanded that the French refereeing team be excluded from the remainder of the tournament due to a critical mistake.
After the match, Egyptian national team coach Hossam Hassan bemoaned the referee, claiming that the decision was “to keep Lionel Messi in the tournament.” “It’s all about money. They want Messi to stay in the tournament. In football, a lot of things happen off the pitch for profit. What happened is unfair. Egypt deserved to qualify. We were the better team.”
He added: “Why is there no fairness in sports? I don’t want to put it in pretty words. Today we have been treated unfairly. We have been treated unfairly. This is my way of speaking out and standing up. I will not be watching any more games in this tournament.”
Hassan added in the post-match press conference: “Life is unfair. The world is unfair.” “Okay, but why isn’t there fairness in sports? I’m not satisfied with this result and how this match played out.
“The referee is unfair. God is enough for me and only God can make things work out. He is wasting the efforts of the whole country. The cup is for Argentina.”
Argentina will play Switzerland in the World Cup quarter-finals, and the winner will face either England or Norway. On the other side of the draw, two quarter-final matches will be played, Morocco vs. France and Spain vs. Belgium.
