{"id":117634,"date":"2026-07-09T15:05:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T15:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/?p=117634"},"modified":"2026-07-09T15:06:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T15:06:29","slug":"new-york-mayor-what-happened-to-egypt-against-argentina-was-robbery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/new-york-mayor-what-happened-to-egypt-against-argentina-was-robbery\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Mayor: What Happened to Egypt Against Argentina Was “Robbery”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New York Mayor Joins Refereeing Controversy: Egypt Was “Robbed” Against Argentina<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The refereeing controversy surrounding Egypt’s Round of 16 match against Argentina at the 2026 FIFA World Cup has extended beyond the sporting world and into U.S. politics, following remarks by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who said the Egyptian national team had been “robbed,” referring to the controversial officiating decisions during the match.<\/p>\n

Mamdani made the comments during a press conference announcing a new strategy to accelerate bus services across New York City. While outlining the project’s expected benefits\u2014including reducing daily commuting times and allowing residents to spend more time with family and friends\u2014he concluded with a lighthearted remark, saying the extra time would also give people a chance to agree with their friends that “Egypt was robbed” in the match against Argentina.<\/p>\n

His comments come as the match continues to dominate sports discussions following Egypt’s 3-2 defeat to Argentina, a game marked by several controversial refereeing decisions that sparked widespread criticism both inside and outside Egypt.<\/p>\n

Egyptian Objections and Official Complaint<\/h3>\n

The most contentious moment came when Egypt had a goal disallowed after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, based on an alleged foul that occurred more than 20 seconds before the goal was scored. Many viewed the decision as the turning point of the match, before Argentina completed its comeback in the closing minutes.<\/p>\n

Following the match, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced that it had filed an official complaint against French referee Fran\u00e7ois Letexier and the officiating team, calling for a review of several decisions it believes directly influenced the outcome of the game.<\/p>\n

In an official statement, the EFA said that a number of refereeing incidents raised “serious questions regarding the consistency and fairness of the decisions,” noting that local and international analysts had also questioned several of the controversial calls, particularly concerning the application of VAR.<\/p>\n

The association added that its complaint is based on what it described as match-changing decisions and requested a thorough review of both the refereeing team’s performance and the procedures followed during the review of the decisive incidents.<\/p>\n

Criticism of the Officiating and Public Outrage<\/h3>\n

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan also sharply criticized the officiating crew, arguing that his team had been treated unfairly after being denied what he believed was a clear penalty and having what he described as a legitimate goal ruled out.<\/p>\n

Hassan said the decisions raised serious concerns about the fairness of the officiating, adding that several key moments could have changed the outcome had they been handled differently.<\/p>\n

At the same time, social media platforms were flooded with criticism as thousands of users shared videos of the disputed incidents, arguing that the refereeing decisions played a decisive role in Egypt’s elimination from the tournament.<\/p>\n

The public debate has since expanded beyond football, with prominent political and sporting figures weighing in. Mamdani’s comments further elevated the controversy, bringing renewed attention to the disputed match.<\/p>\n

Despite ongoing calls for a review of the officiating, FIFA has not yet issued any official response regarding the complaint submitted by the Egyptian Football Association. Meanwhile, the match continues to fuel widespread debate over the use of VAR and the consistency of its application in major international tournaments.<\/p>\n

United Network News (UNN Arabic)<\/strong><\/p>\n

An independent media platform providing reliable news and objective analysis while promoting peace and intercultural dialogue around the world to deliver the truth and build bridges of understanding between peoples.<\/p>\n

For more news, visit our homepage:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/un-news.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Author:<\/strong> Counselor Faisal Al-Mutairi<\/p>\n

Published:<\/strong> July 9, 2026<\/p>\n

Last Updated: July 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New York Mayor Joins Refereeing Controversy: Egypt Was “Robbed” Against Argentina The refereeing controversy surrounding Egypt’s Round of 16 match against Argentina at the 2026 FIFA World Cup has extended beyond the sporting world and into U.S. politics, following remarks by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who said the Egyptian national team had been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"tmauthors":[74],"class_list":{"0":"post-117634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117634"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117635,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117634\/revisions\/117635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117634"},{"taxonomy":"tmauthors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/un-news.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tmauthors?post=117634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}