MOSCOW, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian Football Association confirmed on Friday that they will launch a formal protest against the work of Paraguayan referee, Enrique Caceres and his team of assistants during their game against Russia in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday.
The 3-1 defeat to the Russians means the Egyptians were knocked out of the World Cup and that their final Group A match against Saudi Arabia on June 25th has nothing to play for.
"We want an investigation into the performance of the whole refereeing team," Egyptian Football Association president Hany Abo Rida commented in the media.
Rida said he felt defender Ahmed Fathi was pushed when he put the ball into the own net to open the scoring at the first half and that Egypt should have been given a second penalty in the game when striker Marwan Moshen went down in the Russia area in the 78th minute with score 3-1.
"The referee should have used VAR (the Video Assistant Referee system) to check and award the penalty. They should have also seen that Fathi had been pushed,' said Rida, who added it was Egypt's "right," to ask for an investigation.
Rida also asked Egyptian supporters for understanding after their World Cup, where they were without the injured Mohamed Salah for their opening game against Uruguay, in a match where they played well only to lose to a last-minute Jose Gimenez header.
They also performed well in the first 45 minutes against the Russians before Fathi's own goal undid their good work and put the hosts on their way to victory.
"I know people in Egypt are not happy with our results, but it is our first tournament in 28 years and we lacked experience,' he explained.
