The Egyptian Football Association said Wednesday it "cannot remain silent regarding the refereeing decisions" following the team's 3-2 round-of-16 loss to Argentina at the World Cup.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan and several players criticized the officiating after being left in disbelief as Argentina scored three unanswered goals in 13 minutes to pull off one of the biggest comebacks in World Cup history.
"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 [VAR] system," the EFA said in a statement Wednesday morning.
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Egypt appeared to have netted their second goal in the 58th minute, but a VAR review determined that Marawan Attia had fouled Argentina defender Lisandro MartÃnez before the goal.
"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," the statement continued.
The winning goal from Enzo Fernández came two minutes into stoppage time and set off a wild scene in front of the Egyptian bench.
A red card was shown to goalkeeping coach Saafan Elsaghir, who had to be physically restrained from going after French referee François Letexier. Multiple yellow cards were doled out to those griping vehemently about Argentina's final goal after officials declined to check on a potential foul by Alexis Mac Allister in the immediate buildup.
"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 said.
Mostafa Zico netted in the 67th minute to give Egypt a 2-0 lead, but all momentum shifted onto Argentina's side when Lionel Messi assisted Cristian Romero in the 79th minute -- the first of three consecutive goals.
On Tuesday, Egypt coach 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 to make it 2-2.
"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."
Argentina moved on to face Switzerland in the quarterfinals.
The statement expressed the frustration among Egypt players, staff and supporters.
"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 Associated Press contributed to this report.
