Egyptian soccer team gets hero’s welcome after World Cup exit

EL-ALAMEIN, Egypt — Thousands of fans turned out to greet Egypt’s national soccer team on its return home Friday after its World Cup adventure ended with a 3-2 loss to Argentina in the knockout stage of the tournament.

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Crowds gathered at the El-Alamein airport, waving photos of star player Mohamed Salah and holding signs celebrating the team’s achievements as they cheered the players’ return.

Egypt made it to the last 16 teams in the tournament for the first time after beating Australia 4-2 on penalty kicks, led by Salah.

The players are expected to meet Saturday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who thanked the team in a Facebook statement on Tuesday “for their honorable performance and for achieving an unprecedented milestone in the history of Egyptian soccer.”

Emotions ran high across Egypt on Tuesday as supporters gathered in coffee shops, homes and public squares to watch the match against Argentina, with Egyptian flags draped from balconies, storefronts and streets.

The Egyptian Football Association, or EFA, said Wednesday that it’s deeply dissatisfied with the refereeing in Tuesday’s match and decisions related to the video assistant referee, or VAR system.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan and several players criticized the referees after Argentina scored three unanswered goals in 13 minutes to pull off one of the biggest comebacks in World Cup history.

“Defending the rights and interests of the Egyptian national team is not a matter that can be ignored, minimized, or treated as secondary,” the EFA said in a statement.

In a statement issued later Wednesday, the head of refereeing for soccer’s world governing body FIFA, Pierluigi Collina, said the debate over decisions is a natural part of soccer, but stressed that “unfounded allegations have no place in our sport.”

“Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials,” he said. “When this happens, it may provoke reactions that lead to threats against them and their families. This is not right.”