An article in the UK Financial Times about Argentinian footballer Messi and US tennis player Williams on 8 July articulated the unintended consequences of having such sporting giants.
Other articles in the same and subsequent issues argued that such stars influence those who are “notionally in charge” of sport. They also detailed European grievances against the International Football Federation FIFA. Probably in anticipation, a month earlier, the UK Economist magazine published an article titled “The World Cup has always been beset by scandal and strife.” I was hoping for an extension of such analyses to last week’s Argentina-Egypt game.
Some commentaries were more explicit. The New York magazine argued that “one-sided refereeing” had made Argentina the “villain of this World Cup”, and New York mayor Mamdani said that “Egypt was robbed” of the game.
FIFA has the responsibility to transparently investigate any reported bias, whether real or perceived.
In the Argentina-Egypt game, I was particularly shocked by one event that is not getting enough attention. This was the yellow card the Egyptian coach received after using the FIFA-encouraged crossed-arms sign of possible racism. Such blatant retaliation against whistle-blowing is unethical and illegal in most institutions. FIFA should not be an exception.
Putting aside fairness or the lack thereof, what concerns me most is the impact on young people and how they perceive the world.
Unfortunately, I could not attend the game as I had to be on a long-haul flight. But on landing, I heard how traumatising it had been for my young daughters.
They told me how they had seen on social media that more intensive security searches had been reserved for Egyptian spectators and how many of them had been showered by beer thrown at them from the Argentinian sections of the crowd. This is clearly offensive when done to opposing fans and security is supposed to immediately remove offenders.
When our daughters were walking back to their hotel with my wife, our ten-year-old was repeatedly mocked by Argentine male fans for wearing an Egypt jersey. My wife wanted to show our girls that they should stand up against such behaviour without emulating it. Instead of returning the insults, she started chanting “Egypt, Egypt.” Our daughters stopped being downcast and joined her in the proud chanting, taking the chauvinist aggressors by surprise and shaming them into silence.
She then had the opportunity to model tolerance and civility to our daughters by engaging in a mutually-complimentary conversation with an older Argentine couple, a beautiful country we have visited and love.
I do not know how widespread such aggressive behaviour was and can only speak for my daughters’ experience. I am grateful that my wife and the friendly Argentine couple were able to balance it. FIFA should build similar bridges rather than focus on appeasing the powerful and maximising financial gains.
Perceptions of discrimination against the underdog, if not effectively addressed, can lead to ultranationalism and radicalisation, making our world less pleasant and more dangerous than we would like it to be. It should be remembered that “table-tennis diplomacy” in the 1970s showed sports’ potential role in improving relations among nations.
What is promising is that the whistle-blowing may not have gone in vain. In a subsequent match, the FIFA-assigned referees were all from a single country that had a stake in the outcome as its team might face the winner. It was, however, refreshing that the refereeing in this case was much fairer. Moreover, the courage of the Egyptian team seems to have encouraged other teams to speak up against bias.
So, what are the lessons for the underdog? I believe the most important one is to work twice as hard to achieve a fair outcome. Perseverance is always key. The Egyptian team may have been an easy target for bias, given that it had not yet established a strong track record, which helps deter discrimination. This is relevant to all international competitions, whether in sport, professional career paths, or other areas.
We should all use such potentially negative experiences as opportunities to guide young people towards constructive forms of reaction to position them for success and guard them against falling into the self-hurting trap of radicalism or extremism.
It is important to help them understand that the world is not always fair and encourage them to stand up to discrimination and redouble their efforts to succeed both individually and in the game of nations. They should continue to have pride in who they are and be good ambassadors and role models.
I was heartened that when my daughters returned home, they demonstrated such positive behaviour. Our youngest loves to play with clay. Her first art project was to create a beautiful Egyptian flag with this material. Our middle daughter, who usually likes Western food, asked for the famous Egyptian dish koshary instead. Our eldest feels doubly happy that she chose to spend the summer studying Arabic at the AUC in Cairo instead of taking her usual courses at her college in Massachusetts. She was also thrilled to have joined other Egyptians in celebrating their team’s successes.
I was relieved that these young women were able to respond to this harsh experience constructively. They are asking to increase their own training sessions, and redoubling their summer work to prepare for the next academic year. Our discussions with them also show that, while being realistic in their view of the world, they are not discounting whatever good values they are learning in the West.
It is vital that we seize the opportunity of globalisation and international interactions to learn from each other and take the best from all traditions and cultures. The main lesson FIFA taught the world was not to follow its example.
The writer is former IMF mission chief to various advanced and developing economies and a former senior adviser to the dean of the IMF Executive Board.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 16 July, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
Short link: