Agreeing with your friends that Egypt were robbed

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani took a cheeky dig at Lionel Messi’s Argentina following their controversial FIFA World Cup round of 16 win over Egypt.

During a press conference on Wednesday, July 8, while outlining plans to make buses faster in New York City, Mamdani jokingly took a detour by stating that Egypt “were robbed” in Tuesday’s FIFA World Cup game against Argentina.

“It means agreeing with your friends that Egypt were robbed yesterday,” he said.

The Argentina vs Egypt match sparked huge controversy after a couple of refereeing decisions appeared to go against Egypt. The Pharaohs, who were looking to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time, held a 2-0 lead after 67 minutes. In a dramatic end to the match, Argentina scored three late goals to complete a 3-2 comeback victory.

After the game, referee Francois Letexier came under fire for making a couple of contentious decisions. First, the French official, through VAR, cancelled out Mostafa Ziko’s 58th-minute goal for Egypt, citing a foul on defender Lisandro Martinez in the buildup.

In stoppage time, Egypt had their penalty appeal waved away after Mohamed Salah went down in the box following a challenge from Julian Alvarez.

Egypt forward Ziko pulled no punches after the match, saying “the injustice was clear” and insisting that “this tournament has been fixed”.

Egyptian FA demand investigation into referee Letexier after World Cup loss to Argentina

Egypt on Wednesday confirmed that it had filed a complaint with FIFA, demanding an investigation into Letexier. The EFA alleged that the official made “serious refereeing mistakes” that caused them to lose the match and be eliminated from the World Cup.

“Hany Abou Rida, president of the Egyptian Football Federation, filed a complaint with FIFA, demanding an investigation into the French referee Francois Letexier after the serious refereeing mistakes committed by the team of referees and double standards, which caused the Egypt team to lose the match and leave the World Cup,” a statement read.

The federation further “demanded the exclusion of the referee and the entire crew from the World Cup” and alleged “the crime of discrimination against the Egyptian national team”.

In another statement, the Egyptian FA said they “cannot remain silent” about the officiating as well as the failure to properly use the video assistant referee (VAR).

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan did not hold back at full-time. He said the referee was unfair and claimed the World Cup “was directed towards Argentina”.