Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan has claimed his team’s dramatic 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 was influenced by “marketing support” designed to keep the defending champions and Lionel Messi in the tournament.
Argentina staged a remarkable comeback after trailing by two goals to secure victory through a stoppage time winner from Enzo Fernandez, ending Egypt’s historic World Cup campaign in heartbreaking fashion.
Speaking after the match, Hassan strongly criticised French referee Francois Letexier and questioned the fairness of several key decisions.
“We suffered an unjust defeat,” Hassan told reporters.
“There is support for the world champions from every direction – marketing support. They wanted the previous world champions to stay in the tournament. They wanted Messi to stay.”
The Egyptian coach insisted his players deserved a different outcome after matching and, in his view, outperforming the reigning champions.
“We were better than the world champions in everything, but there were factors on and off the pitch that affected the result,” he said.
Egypt questions controversial refereeing decisions
Hassan expanded on his criticism during an interview with BeIN Sports, suggesting the officials may have faced pressure because of Argentina’s status and Messi’s global appeal.
“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running,” he said.
“In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions received support at every level.”
His comments came after Egypt protested several refereeing decisions, including a disallowed goal following a VAR review and appeals for a late penalty that were rejected. Egypt’s bench and players reacted angrily after the final whistle, with coaching staff confronting match officials before being restrained.
Forward Mostafa Zico also questioned the officiating.
“The referee was unfair and wasted the efforts of an entire nation,” Zico said.
“From the beginning of the match, he was against us. The tournament is already directed.”
Zico later apologised to Egyptian supporters, saying the squad had hoped to deliver a memorable victory for the country.
Argentina survives as Egypt exits with pride
Despite the controversy, Argentina completed one of the tournament’s most dramatic comebacks.
Cristian Romero started the revival before Lionel Messi scored the equaliser. Enzo Fernandez then headed home the winning goal deep into stoppage time to send the defending champions into the quarterfinals.
The result kept Argentina’s title defence alive while ending Egypt’s impressive World Cup journey. The Pharaohs had produced one of their strongest performances on football’s biggest stage and came within minutes of eliminating the defending champions.
Neither FIFA nor the match officials immediately responded to Hassan’s allegations. No evidence has been presented publicly to support claims that the result was influenced by factors beyond the match itself.
Hassan later said he would not watch the remainder of the tournament, maintaining that his side had suffered an injustice after coming so close to producing one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
