Egypt coach Hossam Hassan has raised concerns about the officiating in his team's 3-2 loss to Argentina. He believes Argentina got special treatment because of Lionel Messi's presence at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
According to Ahram Online, Hassan spoke out after Egypt lost a two-goal lead, with Enzo Fernández scoring a last-minute winner that sent Argentina into the quarter-finals.
The Pharaohs seemed set to pull off a huge upset after going 2-0 up. But Argentina made a stunning late comeback thanks to goals from Cristian Romero, Messi, and Fernández.
Despite the tough loss, Hassan expressed pride in his players for reaching the knockout stage for the first time in Egypt’s World Cup history.
“I am very happy with my team’s performance at the World Cup,” Hassan told reporters. “We have a good team that honoured African and Arab football. We don’t fear any team. We will build on what we achieved at this World Cup because we have many goals for the future. Our ambition is to compete on equal terms with any team in the world.”
The former Egypt striker also praised his mostly home-based squad for matching one of the strongest teams in the world.
“I thank my players for their performance, and I am very satisfied with them. The majority of my players compete in the domestic league, and they have proven they can challenge players in the world’s biggest leagues. We will earn our place among the world’s top football nations.”
Hassan had strong words for French referee François Letexier and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
“We haven’t seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out, and a second incident that should have been checked for a penalty for us was not even checked by the VAR. A second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed,” he said during his post-match press conference.
“There seems to have been pressure from the Argentinian side on the referee that has brought about this outcome.
“Life is unfair. The world is unfair. OK, but why is there no fairness in sports? I’m not convinced by this outcome and by the way things unfolded in this match.”
Hassan also criticized the timing of the match, which started at noon local time.
“Whoever schedules these matches is someone who has never played football. You never schedule a football match at 12 noon,” he said.
Speaking later to beIN Sports, as reported by France24, the Egypt coach went further, suggesting the tournament favored the defending champions.
“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition? Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running?” Hassan said.
“In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions benefited from support at every level.”
He added, “I told the referee that what was happening wasn’t fair. It’s an undeserved victory for Argentina. Once I’m back in my country and at home, I’ll never watch the World Cup again, because there’s no justice in this competition.”
Despite the disappointment, Hassan apologized to Egyptian supporters while feeling proud of the team’s historic campaign.
“I apologize to the Egyptian people. We wanted to make you happy, but it was beyond our control. I’m sorry. I wanted us to go as far as possible, but in the end, we all saw what happened,” he said.
Egypt’s impressive journey included draws against Belgium and Iran, a win over New Zealand in the group stage, and a penalty shootout victory over Australia in the Round of 32 before their dramatic exit against Argentina.
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