Egypt lose World Cup appeal

Egypt have lost their appeal against a 2002 World Cup qualifying draw in Algeria last month which was held up by crowd trouble.

The 1-1 draw saw Algerian fans hold up the game and throw rocks and debris onto the pitch when the home side went behind.

Egypt wanted the game replayed at a neutral venue as they missed the chance of a win and the place in the World Cup finals from group C which went to Senegal.

A statement from the FIFA Organising Committee for the World Cup confirmed today:

"The Bureau closely studied a video recording of the incidents and agreed with the reports from the match commissioner and the referee that none of these objects had struck a player and thus the outcome of the match had not been affected. The referee brought the match to a conclusion after an interruption of 15 minutes."

Jamaica also lost an appeal against the refereeing of their defeats against the US and Costa Rica.