Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said his team suffered “injustice” after Argentina came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in Atlanta and he added he won’t watch the rest of the World Cup.
Argentina’s comeback saw Cristian Romero and Lionel Messi cancel Egypt’s early lead, before Enzo Fernandez struck deep into stoppage time to send the defending champions into the quarter-finals.
Speaking after the match, through FIFA’s official translation, Hassan said the outcome went beyond the result on the pitch. “I think the effect of this outcome goes beyond the defeated seat. We haven’t seen respect nor fair play. “I’m not convinced with this outcome, with the way things unfolded in this match. I do not want to try to put it nicely with beautiful wording, selective words, saying hard luck and so and so forth. We’ve been treated unfairly today. We’ve suffered injustice,” he said.
“There are a lot of things to be questioned on and off the pitch, negative aspects all around,” Hassan said. He also said he would not be watching any further matches at the tournament following Egypt’s exit.
This was Egypt’s best World Cup run since 1934 and their first appearance since 2018. Hassan’s comments followed a heated exchange with French referee Francois Letexier at the final whistle, during which the Egyptian coach suggested the official had “something to hide.”
Egypt were especially aggrieved by a goal ruled out after a VAR review and a non-review of a late challenge on captain Mohamed Salah. Players accused the referee of bias; FIFA has yet to respond.
