Egypt coach Hossam Hassan launched an extraordinary attack on match officials after Egypt suffered a shock 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup, claiming the Pharaohs had been “unfairly treated” and hinting at outside influence aimed at keeping Lionel Messi and the reigning champions in the tournament. Egypt held a two-goal lead in Atalanta and were on course to pull off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, but Argentina scored three late goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez to seal their place in the quarter-finals. However, Hassan insisted the match was decided by a series of controversial refereeing decisions and not just incidents on the pitch.
Hassan claims Egypt suffered ‘injustice’ against Argentina
Speaking after the match, Hassan believed Egypt had performed better than the reigning world champions and claimed several key refereeing decisions prevented his team from reaching the quarter-finals. Hassan told reporters: “We looked better than the defending champions, better in all aspects, but the result was affected by factors on the pitch and external factors off the pitch.” “Maybe they want to keep the world champion in the competition. Maybe they want Messi to keep competing. “In football sometimes there are external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions have support at every level.” The Egyptian coach returned to the referee’s chair several times during press conferences to insist his players were not being treated with the respect they deserved. “We didn’t see respect or fair play,” he said. “The penalty was disallowed. There wasn’t even a VAR check and our second goal was disallowed for whatever reason.” “I want to use a beautiful word, ‘bad luck,’ but we were treated unfairly and it was an injustice.” He later emphasized the same in interviews with the media. “I don’t want to put it nicely and call it bad luck. We were unfairly cheated today; we were treated unfairly.”
Goals disallowed, penalty appeals and referee appointments add to Egypt’s frustrations
Egypt’s anger centered on several major incidents that occurred during the tournament. With Egypt leading 1-0, Mostafa Zico thought he had extended the advantage, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review found he had fouled Lisandro Martinez during the attack. Zico then scored to bring Egypt back two goals before Argentina staged a dramatic comeback but the controversy continued after Enzo Fernandez scored the stoppage-time winner. Egypt believe they should have been punished after Alexis McAllister pulled Hamdi Fati’s shirt during the match, with Hassan questioning why the incident was never reviewed. “There was no respect or fair play,” Hassan said. “The penalty was disallowed and wasn’t even checked by VAR. The second goal was clearly disallowed. When we all saw the footage of the shirt being pulled back, it wasn’t even checked by VAR.”
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan gets into an argument with French referee François Letsier during the World Cup round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt on Tuesday, July 7, 2026 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
The Egypt coach also questioned FIFA’s appointment of French referee François Letsier for the match, pointing out that FIFA had raised concerns before kick-off due to France’s rivalry with Argentina following the 2022 World Cup final. “There seems to be pressure from the Argentinian side on this result,” Hassan said. “We were against the referee’s choice because of the situation in France, but everyone has to suffer at some point and we suffered too.” Hassan got into a heated exchange of words with Letsier after the final whistle and later revealed what he said to the referee. “What I told the referee was, ‘It’s not fair,'” Hassan explained. “I said maybe he had scars or something to hide. “If someone tries to hide something, they often can’t hide it.”
Mustafa Zico responds to concerns as Hassan criticizes schedule
Goal scorer Mustafa Zico admitted it was painful to see Egypt’s advantage evaporate after leading 2-0 and questioned some of the referee’s decisions. “It was bad luck. The game was in our hands and it slipped away at the last moment,” Zico said. “Strange things happened on the pitch. “We worked hard today and everyone saw it. I’m not going to talk about stuff like that. We won 2-0. After the 2-0 result, everything turned against us, against us. I don’t even know why the second goal was disallowed, I couldn’t see any reason. “But we have to find solutions so that the second goal doesn’t come. He also wanted to disallow the third goal, but thank God he didn’t succeed.”
Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan (left) prior to Argentina’s World Cup round of 16 football match against Egypt on Tuesday, July 7, 2026 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Hassan also expressed frustration with the arrangement of the game, questioning why both teams were asked to kick off at noon just four days after their last-32 wins. “Whoever arranges these games has never played football,” he said. “You would never schedule a game at 12 noon. At noon you would go for a walk or have brunch; you would not go play football. “When do the players eat? 7:30 in the morning? “There are a lot of things to question on and off the pitch.” Despite his anger at the referee, Hassan praised the dedication shown by his team and stressed that most of his players were playing domestically rather than in Europe’s top leagues. “I’m very, very pleased with the effort they put in,” he said. “Most of our players are from the Egyptian domestic league, while many players from other national teams are in Europe and live in that professional environment. “However, apart from Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmouche, our players are mainly local and we can compete with anyone.” The thrilling defeat also left Hassan questioning whether he wanted to continue watching the rest of the tournament. “I will not continue to follow the World Cup,” he said. “It’s my own way of speaking.”
