I'm crying with Egyptians right now because they're leaving this World Cup with their heads held high, as they absolutely should. They were the better team for large stretches of that game, barring the final ten minutes, where decisions once again swung unfairly against them.
I'm crying with the rest of Africa too. Because the pattern is impossible to ignore. Fouls overlooked. Officiating one-sided. And a growing frustration that African teams are consistently on the wrong end of these moments.
At this point, it's no longer a coincidence, it's a pattern. The theory that FIFA want Argentina in the latter stages of the last two World Cups is no longer a conspiracy. It's a conclusion drawn from repeated evidence. There's simply no other way to explain the imbalance.
Gianni Infantino and the rest of FIFA's decision-makers should be ashamed of themselves. Deeply ashamed. Because what we witnessed tonight wasn't football. It was a rigged spectacle. And the world saw it.
Egypt's disallowed goal was completely against how this tournament has been refereed.
You can't have a light touch where you don't give fouls for minimal contact and then rule out a goal through VAR for a very minimal hold of the shirt.
#ARGEGY
🚨🗣 Salah on the match officiating:
"The less I say about it, the better. I don't want to end up with a hefty fine from FIFA... but you know what it is." 🇪🇬🇦🇷
We are wasting our time, energy, emotions on a tournament that already had a winner before it even began.
I don’t fight it anymore, I’ve accepted that Corruption is the main part of football now
🚨🗣 Jamie Carragher on Egypt's Canceled goal by VAR:
🗣"I am telling you that, if that was against another team it would have been awarded as a goal"
"If that was in the premier league, Laliga or Serie A, it would have been a goal even after VAR review, there is a lot of inconsistency lately in this tournament"
🚨Thierry Henry on Argentina eliminating Egypt from the FIFA World Cup:
🗣️ “For me, this feels like football robbery in broad daylight.
I’m not taking anything away from Argentina’s quality because they have world-class players, but I don’t think they deserved to win this match. Egypt worked incredibly hard to build a two-goal lead. They defended with courage, attacked with confidence and earned every bit of that advantage.
The turning point, in my opinion, was the refereeing. I didn’t agree with the penalty that was awarded to Argentina earlier in the game, and after that it felt as though every important decision was going against Egypt. Whether people agree or disagree, those moments changed the rhythm of the match and gave Argentina the momentum they desperately needed.
Egypt will leave this tournament feeling heartbroken because they were so close to one of the greatest victories in their history. Sometimes football is decided by brilliant moments, and sometimes it’s decided by controversial decisions. Tonight, I believe the officiating will be discussed just as much as the football itself.”
🚨Paul Scholes on Mo Salah and Egypt being eliminated by Argentina.
🗣️“This is the greatest robbery in football history I’ve ever witnessed, from the beginning of the game till the end there wasn’t any favorable decision for the Egyptian national team. You don’t have to bring in excuses for such controversial decisions in the end.”
“It’s sad and you can see how emotional and heartbreaking the fans look after the game, it’s not what we expected from the game today. A false penalty and many other decisions that isn’t meant to be taken, we just have to admit the fact that it was rigged and there’s nothing we can do about this.”
“It’s Lionel Messi and we all know why this happened today against the Egyptian team, this wasn’t how football is supposed to be played but they ruin everything with their favorite decisions.”
Incredible Egyptian goal is disallowed because of a foul far away, then same situation a few minutes later and goal for Argentina not disallowed! No VAR, nothing? FIFA again looks like a corrupt joke, playing favorites for stars.