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The Egyptian Football Association has questioned the “fairness” of the national team’s 3-2 loss to Argentina in Tuesday’s World Cup last-16 encounter.

Having gone 1-0 up through Yasser Ibrahim early on, Egypt thought they had doubled their lead in the second half when Mostafa Ziko scored at the end of an excellent move. The goal was disallowed after a VAR review, however, with the referee, François Letexier, adjudging Marwan Attia to have committed a foul in the buildup.

Ziko made it 2-0 on 67 minutes only for Cristian Romero and Lionel Messi to level the score at 2-2. Then, in injury time, Egypt were infuriated when Letexier declined to award a penalty for Julián Alvarez’s challenge on Mohamed Salah. Moments later, Enzo Fernández scored the winner.

Hossam Hassan, the Egypt manager, said after the match that his side had “suffered injustice” and “were wronged”, claiming: “What happened was unfair. Egypt deserved to qualify. We were the better team”. The Egyptian FA has backed Hassan, issuing a statement strongly critical of the way the match was officiated.

“The Egyptian Football Association cannot remain silent regarding the refereeing decisions witnessed during the match against Argentina as well as the failure to make appropriate use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system,” the statement read. “Several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game.

“A number of football experts and specialist analysts, both locally and internationally, have highlighted controversial and influential refereeing incidents during the match. This underlines the importance of maintaining the highest standards of integrity, fairness, and transparency in match officiating, particularly in a competition of the stature and significance of the World Cup.”

The statement went on: “Egyptian football has always respected the principles of fair play, sporting integrity, and respect for the game. These same principles require that all teams compete on equal terms and receive equal treatment. What occurred during the match has understandably generated widespread frustration among our players, staff, and supporters, who expected the highest standards of officiating on football’s biggest stage.

“Defending the rights and interests of the Egyptian national team is not a matter that can be ignored, minimised, or treated as secondary. It is a responsibility that we carry with full conviction and determination. Every player who wears the Egyptian shirt, and every supporter who stands behind the team, deserves fairness, respect, and equal application of the laws of the game.”

Despite their anger at the manner of their exit, Egypt depart the US with a first World Cup win, first progression from the group stage and first knockout win, making this a historic tournament for them. Argentina, meanwhile, will face Switzerland in the last eight after Murat Yakin’s side edged past Colombia on penalties.