Referee Ramon Abatti gestures as he speaks to Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan on the sidelines during the World Cup Group G soccer match between Belgium and Egypt in Seattle. AP
Egypt national team players, coach, and fans fumed after the Pharaohs were denied a penalty in the dying minutes of Monday’s draw against Belgium at the World Cup.
The seven-time African champions, Egypt, held to a 1-1 draw against Belgium in their opening Group G match.
The Egyptian team took the lead through Emam Ashour in the 19th minute before right-back Mohamed Hany turned the ball into his own net to hand Belgium a point.
In the closing stages of the game, Egypt’s players appealed for a penalty after midfielder Ahmed Sayed Zizo went down under a challenge from Belgium defender Maxime De Cuyper near the box, but the appeals were waved away.
In a widely shared incident on social media, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan was involved in a touchline incident during the second half, grabbing the fourth official while appealing for a penalty and appearing to mimic the action he believed should have resulted in a spot kick.
Hassan said in the press conference after the game that his team was close to winning and should have been awarded a penalty. "ّIf it were for Belgium it would have been surely awarded," he said.
Egyptian former referee Tawfiq El-Sayed agreed with coach Hassan that Brazilian referee Ramon Abatti denied a deserved penalty for Egypt as Belgium defender made a clear mistake.
“Abatti was performing well through the whole game except the case of Zizo’s obstruction in the second half. Egypt deserved a penalty as Belgium defender intentionally stopped Zizo with his hand and that continued inside the box,” El-Sayed told Egyptian website Masrawy.com after the game. “The right decision also required that the referee give a yellow card for Belgium player.”
Ayman Degesh, a prominent former Egyptian international referee, had another point of view as he agreed on the fault of the referee and his assistant, but said that Egypt should have been awarded a clear free kick at least.
Alongside the controversy regarding whether Egypt deserved a penalty or at least a free-kick, the fury has also spread to the Egyptian fans who vented their anger on the referee through social media, stressing that he deprived the team of a deserved win.
Egypt will face New Zealand in their second Group G match on 22 June.
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