Egypt coach Hossam Hassan was a furious man on Tuesday. He felt robbed. His team had just seen a 2-0 lead turn into a 3-2 defeat against world champions Argentina in a FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 clash. The winning goal came two minutes into stoppage time and set off wild scenes in front of the Egyptian bench. A red card was shown to goalkeeping coach Saafan Elsaghir, who had to be physically restrained from going after French referee Francois Letexier. Multiple yellow cards were doled out to those vehemently protesting Argentina’s final goal.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan held up both arms in an “X” shape – the signal in football for calling out racial abuse – and stated flatly that his upstart squad was victimised by an establishment that wanted Messi and Argentina to advance to the quarter-finals in their pursuit of a second straight title. “We have been treated unfairly today,” Hassan said. “We have suffered injustice.”
He was even filmed spitting in the direction of fans who were trying to get under his skin.
The Egyptian coach spat at fans while yelling “Fuck you” and then went up to a FIFA photographer and tried to fight him.
He should be banned from all future FIFA events. pic.twitter.com/ET1ytJm9gN
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) July 8, 2026
In a tournament already marred by allegations that U.S. President Donald Trump influenced FIFA to overturn a one-game suspension for an American player, Egypt turned up the heat on football’s governing body.
“I just would like to say that we would have deserved to earn this win,” Hassan said, “but we are leaving with honour, with pride, regardless of this defeat.”
Hassan, who has been outspoken in his support of the Palestinians during the tournament, was upset that a potential second goal was overturned by a video review that showed a foul by Egypt at the start of an end-to-end move.
Egypt took a 2-0 lead anyway on Mostafa Zico’s goal in the 67th minute, but there was still enough time for Argentina to pull off a comeback for the ages in the stadium that is normally home to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
Cristian Romero gave the champions hope in the 79th minute. Messi blasted in the equaliser off the crossbar just four minutes later. And Enzo Fernandez won it for Argentina in the second minute of stoppage time – a move that began at the opposite end of the field with Salah being dispossessed as he tried to dribble into the penalty area, winding up face down on the turf.
“The Egyptian Football Association cannot remain silent regarding the refereeing decisions witnessed during the match against Argentina, as well as the failure to make appropriate use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system,” the EFA said in a statement on Wednesday morning. “Several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game.”
Even retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady took note of the comeback, going on social media to point out that it rivalled the one he engineered against the Falcons in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5, 2017, when the New England Patriots rallied from a 28-3 deficit late in the third quarter to win 34-28 in overtime.
“Yeah, so that might top 28-3,” Brady wrote on X.
Hassan couldn’t care less about what Brady had to say. The coach was still seething that the video assistant referee didn’t feel the need for Letexier to review what Egypt felt was a foul on Salah in the area, denying what could have been a penalty kick in the waning minutes.
“The effect of this outcome goes way beyond the defeat itself because we have seen neither respect nor fair play,” Hassan said. “There has been neither respect nor fair play because a penalty was ruled out. A second incident that should have resulted in a penalty for us was not even checked by VAR.”
When Salah led a break out of the Egyptian half that led to Zico’s goal, it appeared the African underdogs – a team that had never won a World Cup game until this tournament – were headed to the quarter-finals.
Egypt fell into a defensive shell, looking to protect its seemingly safe lead, only to see Argentina pull off another dramatic escape. La Albiceleste needed extra time to beat Cape Verde 3-2 in the Round of 32. This was an even closer call for Messi and company.
It was all too much for Hassan and his players to bear.
“What I told the referee was simply that this is unfair,” the coach said. “I was saying maybe he’s carrying a scar, maybe he has something to hide. Whoever has something to hide sometimes fails to hide it, and that was exactly what I felt during that conversation.”
Argentina moved on to face Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
For Hassan, the tournament is over.
He has no intention of watching any more football.
“I promise you, from the moment I go back, I’m not going to continue following the matches of this FIFA World Cup,” he said. “This is my internal fight, my internal objection, my own way of speaking up and standing up.
“I am not going to watch a single match of this tournament.”
With AP inputs
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