Atlanta, UNITED STATES – Egypt national team head coach Hossam Hassan has launched a blistering attack on tournament organizers and match officials, alleging a financial conspiracy to ensure Lionel Messi and Argentina advance deep into the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the expense of the Pharaohs.
Hassan’s explosive remarks followed Egypt’s agonizing 3-2 Round of 16 defeat at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a match defined by a disallowed Egyptian goal and a ignored late penalty appeal just seconds before Enzo Fernández scored Argentina’s injury-time winner. Okay News reports that the legendary former striker did not hold back during his post-match press conference, explicitly questioning the integrity of the tournament’s off-pitch interests.
Fuming over the refereeing decisions that derailed his side’s historic campaign, Hassan stated: “It’s all about money. They want Messi to stay in the tournament. In football, many things happen off the pitch because of interests. What happened today was completely unfair. Egypt deserved to qualify; we were clearly the better team against Argentina.”
The Egyptian camp’s grievances center primarily on the 58th minute, when Mostafa Ziko’s potential 2-0 goal was chalked off by a highly contentious retrospective VAR review, and the 92nd minute, when a strong penalty claim for a foul on Mohamed Salah was completely waved away. The resulting counter-attack allowed Argentina to seal the tie. While Hassan faces potential FIFA disciplinary sanctions for his outspoken corruption allegations, his sentiments have ignited a fierce global football debate regarding officiating biases toward high-profile superstars in knockout football.
