Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan has accused FIFA and French referee François Letexier of favouring defending champions Argentina after his side’s dramatic 3-2 defeat in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Egypt surrendered a two-goal lead in the closing stages of the match as Argentina, inspired by Lionel Messi, mounted a remarkable comeback to reach the quarter-finals. The controversy centered on two key incidents: an Egyptian goal ruled out after a VAR review and a penalty appeal involving Mohamed Salah that was not reviewed shortly before Argentina scored the winning goal.
Speaking after the match, Hassan claimed the officiating was unfair and suggested external factors may have influenced the outcome.
“Maybe it’s a marketing thing. Maybe they want to keep the reigning World Cup champions in the competition; they want to keep Messi in the competition,” he said.
Hassan also announced that he would no longer watch the remainder of the tournament, saying Egypt had suffered a great injustice despite his players’ impressive performance against the world champions.
As of now, FIFA has not publicly responded to Hassan’s allegations, and there is no evidence that the match was manipulated or that officials deliberately favoured Argentina
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