FIFA suspends Ziko and Hassan brothers after Egypt’s World Cup exit

FIFA has suspended three members of Egypt’s national team following its World Cup round-of-16 loss to Argentina in Atlanta in July, according to the Egyptian Football Association. Mostafa Ziko received a five-match ban; coach Hossam Hassan and team manager Ibrahim Hassan were each banned for three matches. The sanctions could disrupt Egypt’s upcoming international fixtures.

Egypt seeks FIFA’s reasons and weighs an appeal

The association said FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee imposed the suspensions. It has asked the committee for the detailed reasons and justifications for its decisions, Al Jazeera reported. Egypt plans to appeal after assessing the legal aspects of the punishments, according to both Al Jazeera and dpa. The appeal was described as a plan, with the association’s review still to come.

The dispute after Egypt’s loss to Argentina

The sanctions followed a heated finish to Argentina’s 3-2 comeback win. Egypt disputed several refereeing decisions, including a Ziko goal ruled out for a foul earlier in the move and an incident before Enzo Fernández scored the winner. Egypt argued that Alexis Mac Allister had pulled Hamdy Fathy in the penalty area at the other end and that the team should have received a penalty.

Dpa reported that Egypt complained to FIFA about the officiating the day after the match and sought to have referee François Letexier barred from the rest of the tournament. Hossam Hassan publicly accused his side of being cheated, Al Jazeera reported. Those were Egypt’s allegations about the match decisions, rather than findings established by the disciplinary announcement.

FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina defended the officiating and warned that allegations of this kind could provoke threats against referees and their families, according to Al Jazeera. Egypt’s request for FIFA’s disciplinary reasoning now precedes its decision on a possible appeal against the three suspensions.