Atlanta (Georgia) [US], July 9: The Egyptian Football Association is seeking redress after being disgusted by the refereeing in Tuesday's dramatic 3-2 World Cup last-16 defeat against Argentina.
The world champions came back from 2-0 down after 79 minutes to win, but Egypt felt they should have been 3-0 up after a video review disallowed a goal from Zico for a minor foul.
The Pharaohs also believe they had a strong penalty claim just before Enzo Fernandez's injury-time winner.
Association president Hany Abo Rida told reporters in the team hotel that he had filed a complaint with FIFA against French referee François Letexier and his assistants. He called for the refereeing team to be excluded from the rest of the tournament.
The Egyptians want an investigation into the officials.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan had already made serious accusations immediately after the match.
"We have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice," he said.
"Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted (Lionel) Messi to stay in the running." Hassan also announced a personal World Cup boycott when he returns to Cairo.
"I promise you: as soon as I'm back, I will no longer follow matches at this World Cup," he said. "That is my inner struggle, my inner protest, my own way of raising my voice and fighting back." Former Bundesliga referee Patrick Ittrich agreed that Egypt should have had a late penalty at 2-2 when Mohamed Salah was challenged by Alexis Mac Allister.
"For me, and I'm relatively clear about this, it's actually a penalty. He does nothing other than pull the shirt. The impulse is there to stop the player from possibly getting to the second ball," he told MagentaTV. VAR did not intervene.
Belgian federation still wants review of rules
Meanwhile, the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said it's still committed to "advocating for a review of the current FIFA regulations and their application" after a red-card suspension controversy involving United States forward Folarin Balogun.
"The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) is proud of the way the Red Devils responded on the pitch yesterday (Monday). At the same time, the RBFA will continue to pursue the ongoing FIFA matter off the pitch," the federation said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The RBFA firmly believes that international football is best served by a disciplinary and governance framework that fully upholds the principles of legal certainty, transparency, equal treatment and fair play."
FIFA allowed Balogun to play against Belgium in the last 16 after he was sent off during the round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Balogun's red card triggered an automatic one-game ban, but FIFA suspended the ban in a near unprecedented move so he could play against Belgium. The Belgian appeal was rejected by FIFA.
The saga has rocked the World Cup and shocked the football community, with critics accusing governing body FIFA of giving in to alleged political meddling, with US President Donald Trump admitting that he asked for a review because "I didn't think it was a foul."
Belgium beat the US 4-1 in their match to advance to the quarter-finals, while Balogun barely had any impact.
"Regardless of the sporting outcome, the RBFA will continue to advocate for the correct and consistent application of these principles by FIFA, ensuring that any form of arbitrariness is avoided," the RBFA said.
Belgium face European champions Spain in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Source: Qatar Tribune
