Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan has blamed controversial refereeing decisions for his side’s dramatic 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, alleging that poor officiating denied the Pharaohs a place in the quarterfinals.
Key Highlights:
- Egypt Coach Hossam Hassan accuses match officials of influencing the result against Argentina.
- Hassan claims VAR wrongly disallowed an Egyptian goal and denied his team a late penalty.
- Egypt surrendered a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 to defending champions Argentina.
- The coach suggests Argentina’s status and Lionel Messi’s presence may have influenced decisions.
- Egypt’s World Cup campaign ends in the Round of 16 despite a spirited performance.
Speaking after Tuesday’s thrilling encounter, Hassan expressed disappointment over what he described as unfair officiating, insisting several key decisions, including Video Assistant Referee (VAR) interventions, favoured Argentina and altered the outcome of the match.
“We have been cheated. What happened today was unfair and unacceptable,” Hassan said, maintaining that Egypt deserved to progress to the last eight.
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The Egypt Coach pointed to the decision to disallow a first-half goal by Mostafa Zico after a VAR review ruled that a foul had occurred earlier in the attacking move. He also argued that Egypt should have been awarded a penalty late in the match after midfielder Hamdy Fathy was allegedly pulled down moments before Argentina scored the decisive goal.
Hassan further suggested that Argentina’s status as reigning world champions, coupled with the global profile of captain Lionel Messi, may have influenced the match officials.
“Perhaps they wanted the world champions to remain in the tournament. Perhaps they wanted Messi to continue,” he alleged.
Egypt appeared to be on course for a famous victory after Yasser Ibrahim opened the scoring before Mostafa Zico doubled the advantage. However, Argentina staged a remarkable comeback, with Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernández finding the net to secure a place in the quarterfinals.
Earlier in the contest, Messi missed an opportunity to score from the penalty spot after Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir produced an impressive save.
Hassan also criticised the scheduling of the match, arguing that the noon kick-off did not provide adequate preparation time for the players and negatively affected the quality of the game.
The defeat brought an end to Egypt’s impressive World Cup campaign, while Argentina advanced to the quarterfinals as they continue their bid to retain the FIFA World Cup title.
