FIFA Referees Accused Of 'Subconscious Bias' Amid Alan Shearer's Scathing Take On Argentina vs Egypt Row
FIFA World Cup is facing a very serious charge: Is it rigged to favour Argentina? The claims by fans stemmed from Egypt's 3-2 loss against Argentina
FIFA World Cup is facing a very serious charge: Is it rigged to favour Argentina? The claims by fans stemmed from Egypt's 3-2 loss against Argentina. The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said on Wednesday it "cannot remain silent" after what it believes was unfair and biased officiating in Egypt's 3-2 Round of 16 loss to Argentina on Tuesday. Egypt coach Hossam Hassan and several players criticised the officiating after being left in disbelief as Argentina scored three goals in 13 minutes to pull off one of the biggest comebacks in World Cup history.
Mostafa Ziko netted to give Egypt a 2-0 lead, but all momentum shifted in Argentina's favour when Lionel Messi assisted Cristian Romero in the 79th minute - the first of three consecutive goals.
A second-half Egypt goal by Mostafa Ziko was ruled out following an on-field VAR review, with officials determining that an infringement around 20 seconds before the ball found the net invalidated the goal.
The decision proved to be one of the defining moments of the contest and heightened tensions on the Egypt bench.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, England legend Alan Shearer said, "If you're giving that as a foul, you are actually going 110 yards back and saying that was a foul. We're going to disallow one of the best goals of the tournament.
"I think, and I can say what I want on here, I think it's utter and complete b*l**cks. The referee didn't give it. It was never enough to say, 'Sorry, that is a clear and obvious foul.'"
Chelsea hero Joe Cole said, "I think it was a foul, a soft foul. But I think what happened there was a subconscious bias. Subconscious bias with the bigger teams. A subconscious thing where everyone loves Argentina, everyone loves Messi. And they found that tiny little foul in the buildup. In fairness to them, it is a foul according to the laws."
In the dramatic climax to the game, Egypt's goalkeeping coach, Saafan Elsaghir, was red-carded and several yellow cards were dished out to Egyptian players. The EFA's statement said that a number of experts and analysts have defended Egypt, underlining the importance of integrity, fairness and transparency in officiating on soccer's biggest stage.
Argentina
Egypt