“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the race,” fumed Egypt‘s national team coach, Hossam Hassan, on BeIN Sports after his team’s 3–2 round-of-16 defeat to Argentina on Tuesday.

“This match was rigged, and the whole world saw it,” he said.

Late in the second half, the Egyptians had led 2–0 thanks to goals from Yasser Ibrahim (15th minute) and Mostafa Ziko (67). Then, the defending champions launched a comeback, turning the match on its head. Cristian Romero (79), Lionel Messi (83), and Enzo Fernandez (90+2) scored to secure the win, and a spot in the quarterfinals.

‘The efforts of an entire nation destroyed’

The defeat left a very bitter taste in the mouth for the seven-time Africa Cup of Nations winners. They blamed French referee Francois Letexier for denying them a historic victory.

“The referee was unfair and destroyed the efforts of an entire nation. The trophy is being handed to Argentina,” said Mostafa Ziko, who had a 58th-minute goal disallowed by the video assistant referee (VAR), in coach Hassan’s words “for whatever reason.”

In the referee’s defense, during the sequence in which Egypt won possession prior to the goal, an Egyptian player clearly stepped on the foot of the Argentine player in possession, bringing him down. In the eyes of some, it was therefore justifiable to disallow the goal. Others feel the infraction was minor and a long way from goal and not the sort of error in which VAR is supposed to intervene at this tournament.

Potential penalty goes unchecked

This was not the only contentious issue. The Egyptians were particularly upset about another incident: “A penalty for us wasn’t even checked by VAR,” Hassan complained.

He and his team said a foul had been committed against Hamdy Fathy inside the Argentine penalty area just minutes before Fernandez scored the winning goal — a view shared by some neutral observers.

Alexis Mac Allister had grabbed Fathy’s jersey away from the ball and pulled the Egyptian player, thereby depriving him of the chance to reach, and potentially convert, a rebound.

Following the match, the Egyptian FA lodged an official complaint with football’s world governing body, FIFA. EFA President Hany Abo Rida accused referee Letexier of “serious errors” and demanded not only an investigation into the incidents but also the exclusion of the entire officiating team from the World Cup.

He said the referee had applied a “double standard, resulting in the Egyptian team losing the match and being eliminated.” Abo Rida further criticized “blatant errors and the refusal to review specific video sequences.”

German former referees weigh in

“You can see the jersey being pulled,” former Bundesliga referee Patrick Ittrich told viewers on Germany’s MagentaTV. “For me, that’s a penalty.”

Ittrich also noted a general imbalance in how the referee officiated the game.

“All the contentious decisions went against Egypt. The negative emotions are understandable,” he said.

At the same time, he said, “the procedures followed regarding the video assistant were correct.”

Ittrich surmised that the VAR didn’t consider the shirt-pulling incident significant or clear enough to intervene.

Lutz Wagner, a former Bundesliga referee and head of referee training at the German Football Association (DFB), assessed the situation similarly.

“Very unwise behavior by the Argentine,” he told viewers on German public broadcaster ARD. “Argentina could not have complained had the whistle been blown.”

National team coach Hassan blamed the Argentines, claiming they had “put pressure on the referee.”

“We deserved the win, but we were shown no respect and no fair play,” Hassan said. “Life is unfair, the world is unfair, but why is there no fairness in football, in sport? We were treated unfairly.”

Scorn for FIFA

Ever since FIFA, following a phone call from President Donald Trump, suspended the red-card ban against US striker Folarin Balogun, the door has been wide open for speculation regarding match-fixing and favoritism.

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The English FA announced that it was considering — possibly partly in jest — appealing the red card and resulting suspension of defender Jarrell Quansah for their quarterfinal against Norway, even though there is no standard appeals process for red cards. The topic has since taken on a life of its own on social media, with numerous memes circulating.

Also not to be taken entirely seriously in this context is a remark by former German national team goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, who suggested revisiting the yellow card issued to German captain Michael Ballack during the 2002 World Cup semifinal.

“If we’re rewriting football history anyway, I have a small suggestion: FIFA should annul the yellow card Michael Ballack received in the 2002 World Cup semifinal, the card that ruled him out of the final,” Kahn wrote on X. He also called for a replay of the 2002 final against Brazil, which Germany lost 2-0.

Credibility deficit

FIFA are bound to continue to face credibility issues well beyond this World Cup. Yet, the organization seems largely unconcerned about providing its critics with open goals. Regarding Trump’s phone call, it would have been easy to simply point to the existing rules and uphold Balogun’s suspension.

FIFA have also unnecessarily exposed themselves to criticism regarding more perceived favoritism toward Argentina. For the quarterfinal match between France and Morocco, it has appointed an all-Argentine officiating team. This caused at least some bewilderment in the French media, given that France, alongside Argentina, are considered one of the favorites for the World Cup title.

The French team themselves appear unperturbed.

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“I don’t focus on who the referee is. We’ve never done that. We are focusing on Morocco and want to win the match,” Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano said.

Whether concerns over the appointment of the all-Argentine officiating team are warranted promises to be revealed during the 90 to 120 minutes on the pitch.

This article was originally written in German.