"FIFA Was Lenient Toward Argentina": Egypt Outraged After Missing Out on Victory

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Egyptian players and fans, who saw a victory slip through their fingers, erupted in anger over the officiating. They claim they were robbed of a win due to biased calls favoring Lionel Messi and Argentina.

Here is the report from Lee Jeong-Chan.

[Reporter]

Egypt raised complaints regarding three major incidents during the match.

First, in the 13th minute of the second half with Egypt leading 1-0, Zizo's potential second goal was overturned after a video review. About 20 seconds before the goal, Martinez was ruled to have been fouled after being stepped on in the Egyptian half.

The other two incidents occurred in quick succession during stoppage time in the second half.

As Egypt sent in a cross, Partey was pulled by his jersey and fell inside the penalty box. In the ensuing play, Salah was also tripped by an opponent. Neither incident was ruled a foul, leading to an Argentine counterattack and a comeback goal.

Egypt expressed outrage, calling it a double standard that the officiating team, which had used VAR to cancel Zizo's earlier goal, failed to review the situations where Egypt could have been awarded a penalty kick.

[Hossam Hassan / Egypt National Football Team Head Coach: There was no respect, no fair play. We should have been awarded a penalty kick today. In a clear penalty situation, neither the referee nor the VAR team looked at the video.]

Egypt's head coach, Hassan, was cautioned after crossing his arms in an X shape to protest strongly, and Zizo was seen in tears after the match.

[Mostafa Zizo / Egypt Forward: Everything went against us. I have no idea why the second goal was canceled. I cannot see any reason for it.]

Egyptian fans voiced their frustration, claiming that FIFA is overly lenient toward the defending champions, Argentina, and their superstar, Messi.

[FIFA just wanted Messi's World Cup run to continue.]

[Give it to Messi. Take it. Take it. Give these dollars to Messi.]

Egyptian media reported that the Egyptian Football Association has filed a formal complaint against the officiating team with FIFA.

(Video Editing: Park Jung-sam)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.