New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani becomes the latest high-profile figure to back Egypt after controversial 3-2 Egypt match fifa world cup His remark during the last-16 loss to Argentina that African teams were being “robbed” went viral amid the debate over refereeing.Mamdani’s comments came just a day after Messi led defending champion Argentina to one of the most dramatic comebacks in World Cup history, overturning a 2-0 deficit in the final 15 minutes to knock out Mohamed Salah’s Egypt and advance to the quarter-finals.
Mamdani supports Egypt with viral ‘looting’ comments
At the launch of New York City’s “Next Stop: Better Buses, Faster Service” initiative, Madani made a surprise reference to the World Cup controversy while highlighting how commuters would benefit from faster bus service.“Now, if you take the bus to work, it adds up quickly,” Mamdani said. “In six months, you’ll be spending 24 hours less on the bus. By a year from now, you’ll have saved more than two days of commuting time.”He continued: “It means having breakfast with the family. It means time to argue about balls and at-bats at your kids’ Little League games. It means going home to bed.”Then, the lines rang out, causing enthusiastic cheers from the audience.“It means agreeing with your friend that Egypt was robbed yesterday. Most importantly, it means time is back on New Yorkers, and they don’t have enough of it.”The mayor’s comments immediately resonated with supporters who felt Egypt had failed to get a fair result, although it did not change the official result, which saw Argentina advance after Messi inspired a stunning late comeback.Mamdani’s comments also prompted growing criticism from Egypt’s players, coaches and fans, many of whom claimed key refereeing decisions favored the reigning world champions.
VAR controversy fuels claims of ‘rigged’ after Argentina’s return
The controversy centered on several hot spots that dramatically changed the momentum of the game.Egypt thought they had doubled their advantage when Mostafa Zico scored early in the second half after an impressive team move. However, after a lengthy VAR review, the referee ruled that Marwan Attiyah had fouled Lisandro Martinez early in the game, resulting in the goal being overturned.Many analysts and supporters believed the foul occurred too far from the goal for VAR to intervene, making the decision one of the biggest talking points of the tournament.Then Egypt still led 2-0, but Argentina fought back strongly. Messi ignited his team’s resurgence when he assisted Cristian Romero in the 79th minute, before Argentina scored twice in stoppage time to seal a remarkable 3-2 victory.Another controversial moment came when Julian Alvarez escaped without conceding a penalty after a challenge on Salah, further fueling accusations that the crucial penalty was awarded in Argentina’s favour.Afterwards, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan, several players and the Egyptian Football Association publicly questioned the referee, with some claiming the World Cup was “rigged” in favor of Argentina.The Egyptian Football Association said it “cannot remain silent” over inconsistent and unfair refereeing, insisting that several key decisions directly affected the outcome of the match.FIFA’s head of referees Pierluigi Collina dismissed claims of bias, defending VAR intervention and stressing that “a foul is a foul” regardless of how far back in time the goal occurred. He also warned that unfounded accusations against match officials could lead to threats and abuse.
