American Arab community leaders concerned by refereeing performances
As the last of eight Arab teams was eliminated from the final rounds of the World Cup, American Arab community leaders and sports enthusiasts said that they were concerned by what they saw as a bias by FIFA referees and officials during several games. (AFP)
RAY HANANIA
- All eight Arab nations at the 2026 World Cup have exited the tournament following Morocco’s 2-0 quarter-final loss to France
CHICAGO, IL: As the last of eight Arab teams was eliminated from the final rounds of the World Cup, American Arab community leaders and sports enthusiasts said that they were concerned by what they saw as a bias by FIFA referees and officials during several games.
The World Cup competition returned to North America after 32 years, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the US. The US, which first hosted the tournament in 1994, attracted intense international attention and interest, including the visit of Jordan’s King Abdullah II to the Dallas Stadium for the match against Argentina in Texas on June 27.
All eight Arab nations at the 2026 World Cup have now exited the tournament following Morocco’s 2-0 quarter-final loss to France.
Egypt was the first Arab team to qualify for the World Cup in 1934, but despite more teams from North Africa and the Middle East taking part over the ensuing decades, no Arab team has won the FIFA World Cup or reached the final.
“The future is bright for Arab football and we continue to hope that an Arab team will win the FIFA World Cup,” Chicago Arab Retail Business Association Chairman Mohammed Abdullah told Arab News.
“The United States did a very good job hosting FIFA and did so while spending far less than Qatar spent on the previous World Cup competition,” he said. “I am hopeful that the participation of Arab teams in future tournaments will lead to even better results. We have already seen significant progress, with Arab teams becoming more competitive and Morocco making an impressive run deep into the tournament.”
Abdullah said many American Arab restaurants and businesses experienced surges during the games as groups hosted watch parties, receptions and gatherings.
“The World Cup is great for business and Arab American businesses were involved,” Abdullah said, citing a watch party for Egypt’s Round of 16 match against Argentina hosted by Mary Alexander-Basta, the Egyptian-American mayor of Bolingbrook, one of the largest suburban communities in Northern Illinois.
Six teams will contest the remaining three quarterfinals: Spain vs Belgium (July 10), Norway vs England, and Argentina vs Switzerland (both July 11).
Veteran sports coach Abder Ghouleh told Arab News many in the community were hopeful that Egypt and Morocco might break the record and make it to the final, which is scheduled to take place on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“Morocco made it to the final eight, showing the world again that they are an elite world team. But they just couldn’t overcome France and which has some of the most talented front line players in World Cup history with Kylian Mbappe Lottin, Michael Akpovie Olise, and Masour Ousmane Dembele,” Ghouleh said, noting that the big controversy was what appeared to be the refereeing bias during the Egypt-Argentina game last week.
“Egypt continues to have a talented team and had a lead against top contender Argentina but lost in the end,” Ghouleh said.
“The consensus among worldwide commentators and fans was that the officiating was obviously bias as the Argentina had 13 fouls but received zero yellow cards,” he added. “Selective enforcement of rules and use of the VAR system in Argentina’s favor further reinforces FIFA as a corrupt organization only interested in money and making sure their golden boy Messi makes it to the final. Though Egypt had a heart-breaking loss, they gained the admiration of the world and also Arab Americans.”
Ghouleh also said that Argentina fans had “displayed a shockingly open racist and thuggish attitude” during the game.
The controversy is aggravated by news that the FBI is currently investigating allegations that the Argentina Football Federation engaged in money-laundering more than $300 million in transactions through a Florida-based company, TourProdEnter LLC.
A record eight Arab nations, including Qatar, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Tunisia, were able to qualify for the 2026 World Cup due to the new expanded tournament format, which increased the number of participating teams from 32 to 48, Ghouleh noted.
WCPT 820 AM Radio Talk Show host Mohammed Faheem said that the controversies involving players in games against Muslim nations cast a dark cloud over the games.
“The allegations of unfair officiating, especially in the Egypt vs Argentina game, should be investigated when supported by evidence, and all teams should have confidence that FIFA applies its rules consistently and impartially,” Faheem told Arab News.
“Broad participation by Arab nations remains an important part of making the World Cup a truly global competition and should be continued.”
Meanwhile FIFA’s chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina pushed back against the criticism that refereeing calls in the Egypt-Argentina game were unjustified.
There were other major controversies involving nob-Arab teams. After the US-Bosnia and Herzegovina game on July 1, which the US team won, President Donald Trump placed a direct call to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, urging him to review decisions against the US team during the game, blurring the line between sports and politics.
source https://www.arabnews.com/node/2650441/sport
Categories: America, Arab World, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN ISLAMIC RELATION, United States