The Egyptian Football Association has said it “cannot remain silent regarding the refereeing decisions” following the team’s round-of-16 loss to Argentina at the World Cup.
Argentina went through to the quarterfinals in dramatic fashion on Tuesday, when they came back from 2-0 down against Egypt to win 3-2.
Enzo Fernández scored the winner in the second minute of stoppage time to avoid a major upset for the defending champions and deny the Pharaohs a famous result.
In a statement, the Egyptian FA said:
“The Egyptian Football Association cannot remain silent regarding the refereeing decisions witnessed during the match against Argentina as well as the failure to make appropriate use of the Video Assistant Referee system.
“Several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game.
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“A number of football experts and specialist analysts, both locally and internationally, have highlighted controversial and influential refereeing incidents during the match,” the statement read.
“This underlines the importance of maintaining the highest standards of integrity, fairness, and transparency in match officiating, particularly in a competition of the stature and significance of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
“Egyptian football has always respected the principles of fair play, sporting integrity, and respect for the game. These same principles require that all teams compete on equal terms and receive equal treatment.
“What occurred during the match has understandably generated widespread frustration among our players, staff, and supporters, who expected the highest standards of officiating on football’s biggest stage,” the statement went on to say.
“Defending the rights and interests of the Egyptian national team is not a matter that can be ignored, minimized, or treated as secondary. It is a responsibility that we carry with full conviction and determination.
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“Every player who wears the Egyptian shirt, and every supporter who stands behind the team, deserves fairness, respect, and equal application of the laws of the game,” the statement ended.
On Tuesday, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said his team was the victim of an “injustice” and suggested that FIFA wanted Lionel Messi to “stay in the running” at the competition.
Messi scored the equalizer in the match to make it 2-2.
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Egypt fumed at having a goal disallowed following a VAR review and then a subsequent failure to check on an apparent foul by Alexis Mac Allister in the immediate buildup to Fernández’s match-winning goal.
“We looked better than the reigning champions — better in everything — but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it,” Hassan said after the match. “Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.
“We haven’t seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out [an alleged foul on Mo Salah]. It was not even checked by the VAR, and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed.
“I want to put it in beautiful words and say, ‘Hard luck,’ but we have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice,” Hassan said.
FIFA has not commented on the statement by the Egyptian FA.
