Egypt star Mustafa Zico blasts FIFA in explosive Instagram post after controversial defeat to Argentina | OneFootball

Egyptian player Mustafa Zico took to Instagram to blast FIFA over the refereeing decisions in their game against Argentina.

The forward did not hold back in expressing his intense frustration following Egypt’s heartbreaking elimination from the tournament.

Mustafa Zico takes to Instagram to blast FIFA

Following the high-stakes match, Zico went public with his fury on social media, posting a scathing message directly aimed at football’s governing body.

“You brought us all the way here just to cheat every other team? This tournament is fixed for your favorite and we all see it. God is sufficient for us. Keep running your ‘favorite team’ World Cup. Nobody cares anymore because we already know who wins. Shame on FIFA,” he wrote.

Controversy that happened during Egypt’s 3-2 defeat to Argentina

The social media storm followed an incredibly dramatic and contentious World Cup Round of 16 clash at the Atlanta Stadium, where defending champions Argentina crawled back from a 2-0 deficit.

Egypt had established a shocking lead thanks to an early header from Yasser Ibrahim and a clinical 67th-minute strike from Zico himself.

However, the major turning point occurred early in the second half when Zico found the back of the net for what he thought was Egypt’s second goal.

Following a lengthy and controversial VAR review, the referee overturned the goal due to an alleged foul committed much earlier in the build-up play.

The final fifteen minutes of the match dissolved into chaos. Argentina launched a blistering comeback, with Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi, and Enzo Fernández scoring in quick succession.

The Egyptian squad grew immensely frustrated as the referee turned down two late penalty appeals for the Pharaohs just before Fernandez struck the winner in stoppage time.

The winning goal itself was also heavily disputed by the Egyptian camp, who believed there were fouls in the build-up that should have prevented the goal from standing.

Egyptian FA have now launched an official complaint against the French referee.

Hossam Hassan’s booking sparks further controversy

One of the biggest talking points of the match came when Egypt manager Hossam Hassan was shown a yellow card after making an “X” gesture with his arms on the touchline.

The crossed-arms “X” signal is FIFA’s universal gesture for reporting alleged racist abuse. Under FIFA’s anti-racism procedures, a player, coach or team official can use the gesture to alert the referee to an alleged incident of discriminatory abuse.

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According to FIFA’s protocol, the signal is intended to activate a three-step process: initially stopping the match, then suspending it if the abuse continues, and ultimately abandoning the game should the situation remain unresolved.

Hassan’s gesture did not result in play being stopped. Instead, the referee booked the Egypt manager and allowed the match to continue, a decision that quickly became another major source of anger within the Egyptian camp and fuelled further criticism of the officiating after the final whistle.