Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan questioned the fairness of the FIFA World Cup after his side’s dramatic 3-2 defeat to Argentina, claiming key refereeing decisions influenced the outcome. …reports Africa Daily News Desk
Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan questioned the fairness of the FIFA World Cup after his side’s dramatic 3-2 defeat to defending champions Argentina, claiming key refereeing decisions played a decisive role in ending his team’s campaign.
Egypt appeared on course for one of the biggest upsets of the tournament after establishing a 2-0 lead against the reigning world champions. However, Argentina staged a remarkable comeback, with Lionel Messi scoring once and setting up another before Enzo Fernandez struck a stoppage-time winner to send the holders into the quarter-finals.
Despite his side’s performance, Hassan said several contentious decisions had gone against Egypt, including the disallowing of a goal following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review and a penalty appeal that was not reviewed in the build-up to Argentina’s winning goal.
Speaking after the match, Hassan suggested factors beyond the football itself had influenced the outcome.
“We looked better than the reigning champion – better in everything – but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it,” Hassan said.
“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.”
“In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champion received support at every level,” he added.
The Egypt coach was particularly critical of the performance of French referee Francois Letexier, pointing to two incidents he believed proved decisive.
Egypt had a goal ruled out before Mostafa Zico later doubled the lead, while Hassan also questioned why a late penalty appeal involving Alexis Mac Allister was not reviewed before Argentina scored the winning goal.
“We haven’t seen respect or fair play,” Hassan said. “A penalty was ruled out. It was not even checked by the VAR, and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed. We have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice.”
Hassan also criticised the scheduling of the Round of 16 encounter, saying the midday kick-off placed unnecessary demands on the players.
The coach revealed that he confronted referee Letexier after the final whistle over what he believed were unfair decisions.
“What I told the referee was, ‘This is unfair,'” Hassan said. “I said maybe he is carrying a scar or has something to hide.”
Argentina eventually secured a 3-2 victory after recovering from a two-goal deficit, with Messi inspiring the comeback before Fernandez struck deep into stoppage time to keep the defending champions’ title defence alive.
The defeat brought Egypt’s FIFA World Cup campaign to an end, while Argentina advanced to the quarter-finals.
