[Saba Sports News] According to US media reports, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) is investigating whether its internal systems have been compromised by hackers. Earlier this week, Argentina staged a dramatic comeback against Egypt in the World Cup Round of 16. After the match, several journalists unexpectedly received emails sent from official AFA accounts, demanding justice for the Egyptian national team and its head coach Hossam Hassan. At least one reporter from The Athletic was among the recipients. Written in English, the email carried the subject line “System Breached: Unfair Officiating” and opened with the line: “This robbery will not go unpunished.” The AFA confirmed it has launched an official probe into the incident. Signed by the group “All Egyptian Cyber Warriors”, the message claimed Argentina’s victory was “stolen”. It also stated at the very beginning: “Security is nothing but an illusion, just like the so-called fairness of that match.”
The editor believes that the clash between Argentina and Egypt ranks among the most dramatic knockout ties in World Cup history. Trailing by two goals at one stage, Argentina netted three unanswered strikes in the final 13 minutes to pull off a stunning comeback. Controversy swirled around two key refereeing decisions. Egypt found the back of the net in the 60th minute, only for the goal to be ruled out following a VAR review. Late in the game, there was also an incident inside Argentina’s penalty area that looked like a potential foul. These two calls have continued to spark widespread doubts over the referee’s standard of officiating and alleged bias in the tournament.