Egypt manager Hossam Hassan has furiously accused FIFA of rigging the World Cup after a string of controversial refereeing decisions went against his side during Argentina’s dramatic late comeback in Atlanta on Tuesday.
Argentina, who were 2-0 down with 12 minutes to play plus stoppage time, looked destined to exit the tournament before late goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez resulted in a remarkable 3-2 comeback victory.
When Fernandez’s game-winning header rippled the net in the 93rd minute, chaos broke out on the touchline as Egypt’s furious staff remonstrated with referee Francois Letexier, leading to goalkeeper coach Saafan El-Sagheer being shown a red card and manager Hassan being dragged away from a confrontation with the official.
The Pharaohs were furious that the referee – and also VAR – had not awarded Egypt a penalty moments before Argentina’s winner, as Mohamed Salah was brought down inside the box after having his foot clipped by Julian Alvarez.
Earlier in the second half, Egypt themselves had a goal disallowed by VAR due to a foul in the build-up. Throughout the game, a string of decisions went in favour of Argentina, who have now progressed to the quarter-finals as they bid to retain their crown in North America.
After the match, Hassan could not contain his outrage and furiously accused world football’s governing body FIFA of rigging the tournament so that all-time great Messi could remain in the competition for ‘marketing reasons’.
Egypt manager Hossam Hassan has furiously accused FIFA of rigging the World Cup
An Egypt coach was sent off after the bench reacted furiously to Enzo Fernandez’s winning goal for Argentina, clearly upset with the number of decisions that went against them
‘We were better, but football is unfair,’ the heartbroken coach said in his post-match interview.
‘It could be a matter of marketing, they could want to make a World Cup with the champion of the last World Cup, they want Messi to exist (in the tournament).
‘I thank my players very much. To all the Egyptians, the Arabs, the Africans, you can work hard, it’s what you have to do, but sometimes there are other factors that make you struggle.
‘I wish we could be happier with the loss, but with a severe loss like today I say to them (my players) be upset. We wish we could be happier. Thank God for everything but football is different from what happens in the stadium when we are playing against the world champions.
‘There is support from all directions for the world champions. Support and marketing.’
He added later: ‘Why isn’t there any fairness in sport? In football? I do not want to try to put it nicely here with beautiful wording. We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice.’
Hassan went on to claim that the result was influenced by ‘internal’ and ‘external’ factors and that Egypt had objected to the selection of Letexier as referee.
Egypt were furious at having a goal disallowed when leading 1-0 during the game, and later showed similar expressions of anger and disbelief after Salah was penalised for a soft foul that would otherwise have seen him charge through on goal for a one-on-one opportunity.
As the touchline bust-up at the end of the game broke out following Fernandez’s winner, Hassan made a gesture that is typically used to draw a referee’s attention to an accusation of racism, holding his hands aloft in an X shape.
It is unclear if Hassan was alleging a specific incident had occurred or whether he was protesting more generally against injustice and the controversial decisions that had gone in favour of Argentina.
Lionel Messi inspired Argentina to a dramatic late comeback as the World Cup holders won 3-2
Egypt’s star man Mohamed Salah cut a miserable figure as he arrived back at Egypt’s hotel
Messi, who is widely regarded as the greatest footballer to have graced the game and steered Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in 2022, is spending the last years of his glittering career in the USA as a veteran for David Beckham’s Inter Miami.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has already drawn controversy over the World Cup’s integrity after his institution agreed to suspend USA forward Folarin Balogun’s red card following a phone call with Donald Trump, has been targeted with accusations of bias by fans amid Argentina’s World Cup success during his tenure.
The Swiss football chief, who has struck a friendship with Trump after awarding the President with FIFA’s inaugural peace prize in 2025, raised eyebrows when he joyfully congratulated Argentina following their narrow last-32 win over Cape Verde – and immediately backpedalled by insisting he is neutral.
Ahead of Switzerland’s round of 16 clash with Colombia in Vancouver, Infantino raised an Egyptian flag aloft in a possible attempt to rubbish accusations of favouritism towards Argentina after their late comeback.
It is important to note that, despite claims online, no evidence has emerged to support allegations or corruption or match manipulation against FIFA or Infantino.
The first big decision made by referee Letexier during Egypt’s defeat was to award Argentina a penalty during the first half, although the Pharaohs should have few complaints about the spot-kick, which was ultimately missed by Messi.
In what was another thrilling round of 16 clash at the World Cup, Yasser Ibrahim put Egypt ahead after just 15 minutes, before Mostafa Ziko doubled their advantage midway through the second half.
Ziko added fuel to the fire after the game by describing Letexier as an ‘unjust’ referee.
‘Referee, not fair,’ he said in tears during his post-match interview. ‘Unjust, unjust referee. An unjust person. An injustice that is so clear.
‘He’s wasting the effort of an entire nation. Since the beginning of the game, we were leaving the game winning 2-0 against Argentina. But the cup has already been given.’
Gianni Infantino lifted an Egyptian flag aloft in Vancouver shortly after the country’s elimination
Ziko, who netted Egypt’s second goal, congratulated Argentina on already winning the World Cup, claiming that the holders have been shown favouritism by ‘unjust’ referees
‘I apologise to (the Egypt fans). We wanted to make them happy today. We didn’t know how to do that. But, by God, it’s not in our hands; it’s in the hands of the referee. The cup has already been decided.
‘Congratulations to Argentina on the World Cup. Congratulations. You don’t need anything else.’
Shortly after the game in Atlanta, FIFA confirmed that all officials for France’s quarter-final against Morocco will be Argentinian – the first time this tournament that all match referees will be from the same country, sparking more allegations of favouritism.
Some fans noted in the fallout of Egypt’s defeat that Argentina have been awarded a remarkable eight penalties in their last 12 World Cup matches, with spot-kicks proving crucial to their triumph in Qatar in 2022.
Argentina will face either Switzerland or Colombia in the World Cup quarter-finals before a potential showdown with England in the semi-finals, should Harry Kane and Co prevail against Erling Haaland’s Norway on Saturday.
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