Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 04:28am on 08 Jul 2026,Wednesday Sports
Egypt's World Cup campaign ended in dramatic fashion after surrendering a two-goal lead in a 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the Round of 16, with forward Mostafa Ziko accusing FIFA of favouring the defending champions. Ziko's frustration centred on a controversial VAR review that disallowed one of his goals before Argentina staged a late comeback through Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez. After the match, Ziko claimed the tournament was "fixed" and alleged the referee had denied Egypt a famous victory, while apologising to supporters for the heartbreaking exit. A viral video highlighting disputed refereeing decisions has further fuelled online debate, though its claims remain unverified and FIFA has not responded to the allegations.
