Egypt coach rails against FIFA following Argentina loss: ‘There’s no justice in this competition’

The Egyptian men’s soccer team thinks a higher power interceded in their 3-2 loss to Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16.

Not God, perhaps, but FIFA.

The African side was up 1-0 when Haissem Hassan passed the ball to Mo Salah, who slid it over to Mostafa Ziko for a goal at the 58-minute mark. However, video-assisted replay (VAR) showed that Egypt’s Marwan Attia got tied up with Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez on the other side of the pitch. It was ruled a foul retroactively, and the goal was disallowed.

VAR review of a foul 100 yards away erases a second Egypt goal vs. Argentina, as seen and heard on the Fox broadcast. #WorldCuppic.twitter.com/NMGuL1zbUShttps://t.co/VFBcSpZVNW

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 7, 2026

The decision was met with immediate criticism, including from Fox commentators, for overstepping VAR’s intended purpose. Egypt appeared to get karmic payback a few minutes later when they scored again and this time it counted.

However, Lionel Messi and the defending World Cup champions staged a furious late comeback, eventually winning 3-2 with a game-winner in stoppage time.

Afterward, Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan was very direct in his criticism, saying he felt there was some interference or behind-the-scenes decision-making affecting the outcome of the game.

“We haven’t seen respect or fair play,” he told reporters. “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.

“There seems to have been pressure on the Argentinian side on the referee that has brought about this outcome.

“Life is unfair. The world is unfair. OK, but why isn’t there any fairness in sports? I’m not convinced by this outcome and by the way things unfolded in this match.”

Hassan also went as far as to criticize the start time of the match in Atlanta.

“Whoever schedules these matches is someone who has never played football,” he added. “You never schedule a football match at 12 noon.”

In another interview, Hassan was even more direct in his assumptions about the game’s predetermined outcome.

“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition? Perhaps they wanted (Lionel) Messi to stay in the running?” he said to Middle East and North Africa broadcaster beIN Sports, via France24. “In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions benefited from support at every level.

“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.”

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