Egyptian Outrage

The final two teams punched their tickets to the Quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup Wednesday, as Switzerland edged Colombia in a penalty-kick shootout and Argentina topped Egypt in one of the tournament's most exciting contests.

Trailing 2-0 with a little more than ten minutes remaining in regular time, the reigning World Cup champs masterfully pieced together a late flurry of goals to escape with a dramatic 3-2 win. 

But for as thrilling as Argentina's come-from-behind victory was for fans to watch, it certainly did not come without its fair share of controversy.

Leading 1-0 in the 58th minute, Egypt appeared to extend its lead when Mostafa Ziko scored following a brilliant sequence of dribbling and passing by his teammates. 

Shortly after the ball found the back of the net, however, the referee consulted VAR (Video Assistant Referee) to check for a foul that may have occurred in the buildup to the goal.

Ultimately, the referee ruled that the Egyptians had gained possession of the ball following a foul on Lisandro Martinez, and he disallowed the Egyptian goal.

The play was controversial for a couple of reasons. While there was undoubtedly contact from Egypt's Marwan Attia regarding Martinez, it was relatively minimal.

Furthermore, the incident occurred mere feet from the Argentinian goal line, meaning that Egypt still had to go the full length of the field once they gained possession.  

There was even more controversy in the game's final minutes. With Egypt in possession of the ball in stoppage time, Hamdy Fathy fell to the ground inside the penalty box after being grabbed by Argentina's Alexis Mac Allister.

Although the Egyptians vehemently petitioned the referee for a penalty, none was awarded. 

Shortly thereafter, Mohamed Salah also went down inside the box after colliding his foot with Julian Alvarez. Once again, no penalty was awarded, and Argentina's subsequent counterattack produced the game-winning goal.

The Egyptian coaches and players were visibly enraged after the series of no-calls in stoppage time. Numerous players received yellow cards for arguing with the referee, and one coach was even sent off after receiving a red card for the same behavior. 

Following the contest, Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan stated, "I want to put it in beautiful words and say, 'Hard luck,' but we have been treated unfairly, and it has been an injustice."

Whether or not true injustice was committed against Egypt is up for debate, but there is no denying that the Egyptians feel they were wronged and took out their frustration on their perceived persecutors.

As followers of Jesus, we can all relate to feeling that an injustice has been committed against us. Living in a fallen world, there will inevitably be times where wrongs are committed against us and appropriate justice is not meted out in the here and now. 

In those moments, it can be very easy for us to become bitter or enraged. We certainly don't like the idea that somebody might be able to get away with persecuting us or committing an evil act against us.

However, we must always remember that, in an ultimate sense, justice will always be properly administered by the Lord Himself. 

Isaiah 30:18b reminds us, "For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him."

As much as we may care about justice, we must not forget that nobody is more concerned about justice than God. Psalm 89:14 even tells us that justice is one of the foundations of God's throne.  

But while God unquestionably is a God of justice, we must remember that He is also a God of mercy. The Lord is patient, and He graciously gives sinners time to repent of their sins and to have them cast away by placing their trust in Jesus. 

Though certain human institutions, such as the government, do have God-ordained authority to administer justice here and now, God is the ultimate authority who will administer perfect justice for everything that has occurred throughout the history of the world. 

When a wrong is committed against us, we should be very careful about how we respond, remembering that God is ultimately responsible for avenging wrongdoing.

Romans 12:17-19 (NIV) says, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord."

Of course, there is certainly nuance to the topic of how we should properly respond to injustice, but the main point remains: vengeance ultimately belongs to God.

When we feel that we have been wronged, we should not seek personal revenge against that individual. There may be times when it is appropriate to report certain activities to the proper authorities, but there is never a time when we should seek to avenge matters ourselves. 

As believers, we know that the Bible promises we will face suffering and persecution because of our faith in Christ (2 Timothy 3:12).

But we also know that God will make sure that people are repaid for the evil they commit against us (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10), and that we will be rewarded if we endure suffering with patience and trust in God's ability to judge and avenge.

In Matthew 5:11-12 (ESV), Jesus told us, "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Today, let's remember that only God can always properly handle matters of justice. Rather than taking our frustrations out on others or seeking to avenge ourselves, let’s patiently entrust these matters to the Lord, knowing that He will make all things right in time.

I'm Matt Osborne, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you that You are a God of justice. Please help me not to avenge myself when I have been sinned against, but to entrust justice to You. I pray that You would grant repentance and faith to those who have sinned against me so that they may find forgiveness in Christ. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.