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Egypt coach Hossam Hassan did not mince words in criticizing the officiating in his team's wild round of 16 loss to Argentina, saying The Pharaohs "suffered injustice" regarding a controversial call that disallowed a goal.
It was shaping up to be a historic day in Egypt soccer history, with it holding a late 2-0 lead over the defending World Cup champions, on the way toward its first quarterfinal appearance. However, Argentina pulled off a stunner with three goals in the final 23 minutes, capped by Enzo Fernández's score in the second minute of stoppage time for the game-winner.
A critical moment came in the 58th minute, when Egypt's Mostafa Zico buried a shot in the net to make it a two-goal lead. However, the play went to video review, which ruled Argentina's Lisandro Martínez was fouled by Marawan Attia, which led to the score. It was a controversial decision that took a score off the board, and although Egypt did score less than 10 minutes later, it could have gone up 3-0 instead of just 2-0.
After the match, Hassan said he was "objecting" to referee François Letexier, saying his team should have gotten some calls and "deserved to have this win."
"I think the affect of this outcome goes beyond the defeated seat. We haven’t seen respect nor fair play," Hassan said, through FIFA translation. "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."
Hassan was seen speaking to the referee, and he told reporters he told the ref it was an unfair situation. The Egypt soccer great-turned-coach also called out the time of the match — noon local time — saying matches shouldn't be scheduled at that time.
"There are a lot of things to be questioned on and off the pitch, negative aspects all around," Hassan said.
Hassan said, as a result of what transpired, he will not be following the rest of the tournament. The 2026 World Cup was Egypt's first since 2018, with the round of 16 finish tying its best since 1934.
Jon Arnold contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Egypt coach slams officials after loss to Argentina, says team 'suffered injustice'
Continue reading...
It was shaping up to be a historic day in Egypt soccer history, with it holding a late 2-0 lead over the defending World Cup champions, on the way toward its first quarterfinal appearance. However, Argentina pulled off a stunner with three goals in the final 23 minutes, capped by Enzo Fernández's score in the second minute of stoppage time for the game-winner.
A critical moment came in the 58th minute, when Egypt's Mostafa Zico buried a shot in the net to make it a two-goal lead. However, the play went to video review, which ruled Argentina's Lisandro Martínez was fouled by Marawan Attia, which led to the score. It was a controversial decision that took a score off the board, and although Egypt did score less than 10 minutes later, it could have gone up 3-0 instead of just 2-0.
After the match, Hassan said he was "objecting" to referee François Letexier, saying his team should have gotten some calls and "deserved to have this win."
"I think the affect of this outcome goes beyond the defeated seat. We haven’t seen respect nor fair play," Hassan said, through FIFA translation. "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."
Hassan was seen speaking to the referee, and he told reporters he told the ref it was an unfair situation. The Egypt soccer great-turned-coach also called out the time of the match — noon local time — saying matches shouldn't be scheduled at that time.
"There are a lot of things to be questioned on and off the pitch, negative aspects all around," Hassan said.
Hassan said, as a result of what transpired, he will not be following the rest of the tournament. The 2026 World Cup was Egypt's first since 2018, with the round of 16 finish tying its best since 1934.
Jon Arnold contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Egypt coach slams officials after loss to Argentina, says team 'suffered injustice'
Continue reading...
