Egypt fume at injustice after agonising Argentina defeat

For 78 minutes in Atlanta, Egypt were on the verge of the greatest night in their footballing history. They led the reigning world champions Argentina 2-0, with a first World Cup quarter-final almost within reach. What happened next will haunt them, and it has left them convinced they were robbed.

Argentina scored three times in the closing 13 minutes to win 3-2. Cristian Romero headed in from a Lionel Messi cross in the 79th minute, Messi levelled four minutes later, and Enzo Fernandez completed the turnaround with a stoppage-time header. As the final whistle sounded, Egypt’s players sank to the turf, some in tears, others staring blankly at the sky.

The aftermath produced one of the most extraordinary reactions the tournament has seen. Egypt did not merely rue their luck. Their coach and players openly accused the competition of favouring Argentina and Messi, using words like “injustice”, “cheated” and “rigged”.

Hassan’s explosive accusations

Head coach Hossam Hassan set the tone in a combative press conference. “I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck,” he said. “We have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice.”

He returned again and again to the idea of credibility. “There have been a lot of things to be questioned on and off the pitch,” Hassan said. “Negative aspects all around. It’s just about credibility, lack of credibility with how things unfolded.”

Then came his most pointed remarks, aired via beIN Sports, in which he suggested outside forces had influenced the result. “Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running,” he said. “The world champion received support at every level. There seem to be pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome.”

His fury sharpened when he turned to the specific calls. “We haven’t seen respect or fair play,” Hassan said. “A penalty for us was ruled out, it was not even checked by the VAR, and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed. We have all seen the shirt pulled back and not even a VAR check. Life is unfair, normal life is unfair, so why is there no fairness in sports?”

Egypt had even objected to the match official beforehand. Hassan revealed his federation had raised concerns about French referee Francois Letexier’s appointment, reasoning that his nationality was a problem given Argentina had beaten France in the 2022 World Cup final. He did not spell out precisely what bias he feared.

That grievance boiled over at full-time, when Hassan confronted the referee directly. “What I told the referee was, ‘This is unfair,'” he said. “I said maybe he is carrying a scar or has something to hide. If somebody is trying to hide something, they often fail to hide it.” He added, pointedly, that he would not watch another match at the tournament.

The players were no less scathing. Forward Mostafa Zico, speaking on the pitch moments after the whistle, declared: “Congratulations to Argentina on the World Cup; the tournament was rigged. The referee was really unfair. The injustice was clear. There’s been an unfairness right from the start of the match.”

The sense of chaos was not confined to the pitch. A member of Egypt’s backroom staff was sent off during the frantic finale. Hassan himself was booked in the aftermath of Argentina’s winner, after crossing his arms in front of his chest, the gesture FIFA endorses for reporting a racist incident. He made no reference to that gesture when he spoke to the media afterwards, leaving its meaning unexplained.

The flashpoints that decided it

The most contentious moment came at the very end, and it is the one Egypt will replay for years. As Argentina surged forward for what became Fernandez’s winner, Salah went down inside the penalty area, appealing for a foul by Julian Alvarez, while replays also showed Mac Allister tugging at an Egyptian shirt in the same phase. Letexier waved play on, and crucially, VAR did not recommend a review. Seconds later, the ball was in the Egyptian net.

Egypt were equally incensed by an earlier call that had gone against them. Leading 1-0, they thought Zico had made it two on the counter, only for the video assistant referee to intervene. The goal was chalked off for a foul in the build-up, when Marwan Attia lightly tugged Lisandro Martinez and caught his foot, an incident that had occurred well before the ball reached the net.

For Egypt, the two decisions cannot be reconciled. If a slight, early foul was enough to rule out their goal, they argue, a possible foul inside Argentina’s box in the seconds before a goal surely warranted at least a look. Analysts sympathetic to the Pharaohs made the same point across several broadcasters, questioning why the scrutiny appeared so one-sided.

The counter-argument is a technical one. A challenge inside the penalty area is judged against the threshold for a spot-kick, which is deliberately higher than for an ordinary foul, so borderline contact on Salah would not automatically trigger intervention. Whether that fully explains the absence of even a review remains the crux of Egypt’s complaint, and it is unlikely to satisfy them.

There is also the wider character of the tournament to consider. Officials at this World Cup have been encouraged to let matches breathe, allowing more physical contact than in recent editions. Foul counts are down noticeably on 2022 and 2018 as a result. Against that permissive backdrop, the strictness applied to Zico’s disallowed goal jarred all the more, which is precisely why it has drawn such scrutiny.

FIFA has been approached for comment on Egypt’s allegations.

Pride amid the pain

Lost in the storm was a performance of real quality from Egypt. Yasser Ibrahim headed them ahead in the 15th minute, and goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir produced a stunning save to deny Messi from the penalty spot, one of several fine stops. For the vast majority of the match, the Pharaohs were the better side.

Before the tournament, Hassan had spoken of his determination to change Egypt’s story on the biggest stage, a nation that had failed to win any of its previous seven World Cup matches. His team did make progress, beating New Zealand for a first-ever World Cup victory, before this crushing exit.

They go home beaten, aggrieved and adamant they deserved more. But they also leave having pushed the world champions closer to the brink than almost anyone else at this tournament, and that counts for something, even on a night when it does not feel like nearly enough.

Read more – Argentina survive in Atlanta As Egypt Denied Fair Shot

Also see – Messi Sparks Extraordinary World Cup Comeback Against Egypt

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