Egypt's manager, Hossam Hassan, has vowed not to watch another minute of the World Cup after his side suffered a 3-2 defeat to Argentina, claiming they were victims of an injustice. Hassan accused FIFA of favoring Argentina and Lionel Messi.
Egypt's early lead and controversial disallowed goal
Egypt took an early lead through Yasser Ibrahim and thought they had doubled their advantage early in the second half, only for Mostafa Ziko's goal to be disallowed for a foul by Marwan Attia in the buildup. Ziko made it 2-0 soon after before Cristian Romero pulled one back for Argentina and Messi equalized, scoring his eighth goal of the tournament and 21st in the World Cup.
Hassan's accusations against FIFA
Egypt were also incensed with the failure of French referee François Letexier to award a foul seconds before Enzo Fernández scored the winning goal. Hassan revealed they had objected to Letexier's selection before the game. “It’s all about money. They want Messi to stay in the tournament,” Hassan said. “In football, many things happen off the pitch because of interests. What happened was unfair. Egypt deserved to qualify. We were the better team.”
Hassan's boycott and player reactions
Hassan, Egypt's all-time leading scorer, added: “Why isn’t there any fairness in sport? I do not want to try to put it nicely here with beautiful wording. We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice. I am not going to watch another match in this tournament.” Ziko also accused officials of favoring Argentina. “After we made it 2-0, everything went against us,” he said. “I don’t know why this second goal was disallowed.”
Argentina's emotional response
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni cut short his post-match interview after bursting into tears. He praised Messi, who recovered from a saved first-half penalty. “Messi missed a penalty but he asks for the ball again and he drives, again and again,” Scaloni said. “I get goosebumps, to be honest. This is who we are, as Argentinians. We play our hearts out.” Julián Alvarez called Messi “the best player in the world”, saying: “I really don’t have the words to describe him. He always helps us when we need him most. He’s a monster.”
