Egypt coach accuses FIFA of rigged match after Argentina stunning comeback: ‘They wanted Messi to stay’

Egypt’s fairytale World Cup run ended in bitter, explosive controversy on Tuesday as head coach Hossam Hassan launched an extraordinary attack on match officials, accusing FIFA of engineering the Pharaohs’ 3-2 defeat to Argentina to keep Lionel Messi in the tournament for “marketing purposes.”

For 78 minutes, Egypt stood on the cusp of the greatest upset in their football history. Yasser Ibrahim had headed the African side into a 15th-minute lead, and Mostafa Ziko doubled the advantage moments after Argentina captain Lionel Messi saw his first-half penalty magnificently saved by goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir. The reigning world champions were on the brink of elimination.

Then came the collapse.

Cristian Romero pulled one back in the 79th minute. Messi – inevitably – smashed home the equalizer four minutes later. And in the second minute of stoppage time, Enzo Fernández rose to head home the winner, completing a three-goal turnaround in just 14 minutes.

But for Hassan and his players, the defeat was not decided on the pitch alone.

‘A Penalty Ruled Out, a Goal Disallowed’

The Egyptian camp’s fury centers on two pivotal VAR decisions. The first came in the 59th minute, with Egypt leading 1-0. Ziko finished a brilliant counter-attack and thought he had doubled the lead – only for French referee François Letexier to be sent to the pitchside monitor. After review, the goal was disallowed because midfielder Marwan Attia had stepped on Argentina defender Lisandro Martínez’s foot deep inside Egypt’s own half, roughly 100 yards and 10 seconds before the goal.

Critics immediately questioned the consistency. “The VAR was willing to go 100 yards backward to penalise Egypt for a minor offence,” one analyst noted, “but completely ignored the shirt pull on Salah”.

That shirt pull came in the dying moments. As Egypt pushed for an equalizer, Mohamed Salah appeared to have his jersey pulled by Alexis Mac Allister inside the Argentine penalty area. No penalty was given. No VAR review was called. Seconds later, Argentina broke up the other end and Fernández scored the winner.

‘They Wanted Messi to Stay’

In a blistering post-match press conference, Hassan did not mince words.

“We looked better than the reigning champions – 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.”

Speaking to beIN Sports, he went further: “Maybe it’s a marketing thing”. He accused the world champions of receiving “support at every level”.

Hassan listed the grievances with growing emotion: “A penalty was ruled out. It was not even checked by the VAR. Our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed. We have all seen the shirt pulled back and not even a VAR check”.

“We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice”.

‘The Tournament Is Rigged’

Forward Mostafa Ziko, who scored Egypt’s legitimate second goal, was equally scathing. “From the very beginning of the match, he was against us,” Ziko said of Letexier. “It’s not right to go out like this. It’s a rigged tournament”.

In a tearful interview, the striker apologized to Egyptian fans before delivering a sarcastic parting shot: “Congratulations to Argentina on the World Cup, congratulations. We don’t need anything else from it, that’s it”.

French Referee, French Rivalry

Hassan also revealed that Egypt had formally objected to Letexier’s appointment before kickoff, citing the French official’s “background”. With France having lost the 2022 World Cup final to Argentina, Hassan suggested the selection was itself questionable. “Everybody has to suffer at some point and we suffered,” he said.

Chaos on the Touchline

The match descended into farce in its final stages. Hassan was shown a yellow card after making FIFA’s official anti-racism “X” gesture – arms crossed in front of the body – toward the referee. One of his backroom staff was shown a red card. By full-time, Egypt had received five yellow cards to Argentina’s none.

Hassan also criticized the midday kickoff time in Atlanta’s sweltering heat. “Whoever schedules these matches has never played football,” he said. “At noon you go for a stroll, you go for brunch – you do not play football”.

‘I Won’t Watch Another Game’

The Egypt coach declared he would boycott the remainder of the tournament. “I’m going home and won’t be watching any more games,” he said. “My personal protest is that I won’t watch the World Cup anymore because there is no justice in it”.

A Historic Campaign Ends in Bitterness

Despite the heartbreak, Egypt depart North America having achieved their deepest World Cup run in history – reaching the knockout stage for only the second time, 92 years after their first, and recording their first-ever knockout victory against Australia in the Round of 32.

But that achievement was overshadowed by the fury of its ending. FIFA has yet to comment on Hassan’s allegations, though the Egyptian coach’s extraordinary accusations – and his anti-racism gesture – are expected to come under official scrutiny.

For now, Argentina advance to a quarter-final against Switzerland in Kansas City. Egypt fly home wondering what might have been – and convinced that forces beyond football ensured they would never find out.