Egypt’s head coach, Hossam Hassan, has unleashed a fervent and scathing criticism against the match officials following his team’s devastating 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, emphatically asserting that the Pharaohs were “robbed” of a well-deserved place in the quarter-finals.
In a highly emotional and impassioned statement made after Tuesday’s disheartening loss, Hassan vehemently accused the officials of deliberately depriving Egypt of crucial decisions that, in his opinion, significantly altered the outcome of the intense contest.
“I refuse to downplay the situation or attribute our loss to mere bad luck,” Hassan exclaimed in a fiery and explosive press conference. “We have been grossly and unfairly cheated today, and we have suffered a grave injustice,” he added, his voice filled with indignation and disappointment.
The Egyptian team had initially thought they had secured an early two-goal advantage when Mostafa Zico scored the opening goal, only to have the effort disallowed after a VAR review, which revealed a foul committed by Lisandro Martinez earlier in the play.
However, Zico eventually restored Egypt’s lead by scoring their second goal, bringing the North Africans within striking distance of a historic and unprecedented World Cup quarter-final appearance.
Nevertheless, the defending champions, Argentina, staged a remarkable and dramatic comeback, with Cristian Romero pulling one goal back, followed by Lionel Messi, who had earlier seen a penalty saved, equalizing the score with his eighth goal of the tournament.
Enzo Fernandez then sealed the comeback with the winning goal, leaving Egypt reeling in shock and disappointment.
Hassan also questioned the events leading up to Argentina’s decisive strike, arguing that Egypt should have been awarded a penalty after Alexis Mac Allister allegedly pulled Hamdy Fathy’s shirt inside the box, an incident that, in his opinion, was a clear and blatant foul.
“We have not witnessed any respect or fair play,” Hassan lamented. “There has been a blatant lack of respect and fair play,” he reiterated.
“A penalty was wrongly disallowed and not even reviewed by VAR. A second goal was inexplicably disallowed, and there was not even a VAR check when we all saw the clear image of the shirt being pulled back,” Hassan exclaimed, his voice filled with frustration and anger.
The Egypt coach admitted that the contentious defeat had left him so disillusioned and disheartened that he would no longer watch the remainder of the tournament.
“I will not continue to follow the matches of this World Cup or watch the remaining games,” he declared. “This is my own way of expressing my outrage and protest,” he added, his statement a clear indication of his deep-seated frustration and disappointment.
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