Egypt FA blasts refereeing in Argentina World Cup loss
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- Egyptian Football Association said it "cannot remain silent" on refereeing decisions and VAR usage in its 3-2 round-of-16 World Cup loss to Argentina, citing "consistency and fairness" concerns in a Wednesday statement
- Enzo Fernández scored the winning goal two minutes into stoppage time to cap Argentina's comeback from 2-0 down, with Lionel Messi having equalized at 2-2
- Egypt goalkeeping coach Saafan Elsaghir was shown a red card and had to be physically restrained from confronting French referee Francois Letexier after Fernández's winner, with multiple yellow cards also handed out to Egyptian staff
- Egypt had a goal disallowed following a VAR review, and officials did not review an apparent foul by Alexis Mac Allister in the buildup to the decisive goal
- Egypt coach Hossam Hassan called the result an "injustice" and suggested FIFA wanted Messi to "stay in the running," then pledged not to watch another match in the tournament
- FIFA had not commented on the EFA's statement as of publication; Argentina advances to face Switzerland in the quarterfinals
Why it matters: Egypt's formal protest puts a disallowed goal and an unreviewed foul in the match-winning buildup into the official record, intensifying scrutiny of officiating at a World Cup where FIFA's silence on its own match officials now contrasts with a competing federation's public accusation of bias toward Messi.
