Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan was visibly furious with the match referee and the game’s outcome, which saw Lionel Messi’s Argentina qualify for the World Cup quarterfinal. Hassan said his team was ‘cheated’ out of a place in the tournament’s Last 8 after Messi inspired the defending champions to a stunning comeback despite being down 0-2 until the 79th minute. Hassan came down hard on the refereeing, which also saw several decisions favouring Argentina and eventually helping them score three goals in just 14 minutes to knock Egypt out of the World Cup.&nbsp;"I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck. We have been cheated unfairly today, we have suffered injustice," Hassan said in an explosive press conference. &nbsp;Mostafa Ziko was among the two goalscorers for Egypt, with his earlier attempt being disallowed following VAR’s intervention due to a foul on Lisandro Martínez in the lead-up to that goal. However, his second shot on the target put Egypt on the brink of World Cup history, only for Messi’s Argentina to shock them with a 3-2 win on Tuesday (Jul 7).&nbsp;&nbsp;Also read| <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/the-game-is-rigged-egypt-mostafa-ziko-blasts-match-referee-after-dramatic-argentina-comeback-fifa-world-cup-var-controversy-goal-disallowed-1783456848475">‘The Game is Rigged!’ – Egypt’s Ziko blasts match referee after dramatic Argentina comeback</a> &nbsp;Even though Messi failed to score a penalty earlier in the game -- missing out for the second straight time -- he assisted Cristian Romero’s header before equalising late in the 83rd minute. &nbsp;However, another controversy erupted after Egypt’s camp felt the referee purposely missed out on awarding them a penalty (for a pull by Alexis Mac Allister on Hamdy Fathy) in stoppage time (91st minute), just before Enzo Fernández scored the winning goal for the South Americans.

FIFA World Cup 2026 Live on Zee5

"We haven't seen respect or fair play. There has not been respect or fair play," Hassan said. "A penalty was ruled out, was not even checked by VAR. A second goal was remarkably disallowed. There has not even been a VAR check when we have all seen the image of the (shirt) being pulled back." &nbsp;Disappointed with the whole episode and how the game unfolded for his team, Hassan said he would not watch any more matches of the tournament, such was the injustice he felt. &nbsp;"I am not going to continue following the matches of this World Cup, watching the matches of this World Cup," he added. “This is my own way of speaking up.”<h3>FIFA wants to keep Messi, Argentina in World Cup</h3>Although Messi has headlines for all the right reasons in this edition by breaking multiple records with each passing game, Hassan speculated that the officials had been put under pressure to keep one of the biggest names in the competition. &nbsp;"Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running," he said in a chat with BeIn Sports. "In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions received support at every level."

Egypt boss Hossam Hassan launches an explosive attack on World Cup officiating, claiming his team was "cheated" to keep Lionel Messi and defending champions Argentina in the tournament after a controversial 3-2 defeat.

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan was visibly furious with the match referee and the game’s outcome, which saw Lionel Messi’s Argentina qualify for the World Cup quarterfinal. Hassan said his team was ‘cheated’ out of a place in the tournament’s Last 8 after Messi inspired the defending champions to a stunning comeback despite being down 0-2 until the 79th minute. Hassan came down hard on the refereeing, which also saw several decisions favouring Argentina and eventually helping them score three goals in just 14 minutes to knock Egypt out of the World Cup. "I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck. We have been cheated unfairly today, we have suffered injustice," Hassan said in an explosive press conference. Mostafa Ziko was among the two goalscorers for Egypt, with his earlier attempt being disallowed following VAR’s intervention due to a foul on Lisandro Martínez in the lead-up to that goal. However, his second shot on the target put Egypt on the brink of World Cup history, only for Messi’s Argentina to shock them with a 3-2 win on Tuesday (Jul 7). Also read| ‘The Game is Rigged!’ – Egypt’s Ziko blasts match referee after dramatic Argentina comeback Even though Messi failed to score a penalty earlier in the game -- missing out for the second straight time -- he assisted Cristian Romero’s header before equalising late in the 83rd minute. However, another controversy erupted after Egypt’s camp felt the referee purposely missed out on awarding them a penalty (for a pull by Alexis Mac Allister on Hamdy Fathy) in stoppage time (91st minute), just before Enzo Fernández scored the winning goal for the South Americans.

Egypt boss Hossam Hassan launches an explosive attack on World Cup officiating, claiming his team was "cheated" to keep Lionel Messi and defending champions Argentina in the tournament after a controversial 3-2 defeat.

Egypt ‘cheated’ to keep Messi and Argentina in World Cup, says furious coach Hassan

Egyptian players were disappointed and felt let down by a few refereeing decisions that eventually turned the game in Argentina’s favour, which pulled off perhaps their best win of the tournament in Atlanta on Tuesday (Jul 7). Trailing 0-2 with close to 20 minutes remaining, Argentina, inspired by Lionel Messi's leadership and a crucial goal, made a stunning comeback and smashed three goals inside 14 minutes to knock Egypt out of the World Cup. Mostafa Ziko, Egypt’s striker, who scored the second goal in the 67th minute, blasted the match referee for his alleged bias towards the defending champions, saying, ‘This game is rigged.’&nbsp;Egypt opened the scoring in the first half through a header by Yasser Ibrahim, with Argentina failing to find the back of the net. Early in the second half, Mohamed Salah’s crisp pass saw Ziko convert it into a goal, with Egypt leading 2-0. While the players and the fans erupted in joy, potentially sniffing the biggest upset of the tournament thus far, a VAR review disallowed the goal for a foul that occurred nearly 100 yards from the scoring position. &nbsp;The match referee rushed to check the replays and later cancelled Egypt’s second goal and perhaps their biggest chance of reaching the World Cup quarterfinal for the first time. Even though the African nation scored soon after through Ziko’s precision, they failed to stop Argentina from making the mother of all comebacks.&nbsp;Also read| <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/fifa-world-cup-2026-lionel-messi-8-goals-argentina-beat-egypt-late-to-secure-quarterfinal-berth-1783448439018">Mother of All Comebacks: Argentina stun Egypt late to secure quarterfinal berth</a> &nbsp;Highly upset with the referee’s call, doubled up with another decision to overlook a foul on an Egyptian player late in the stoppage time, just before Argentina made it 3-2, Ziko said, “Congratulations to Argentina on the World Cup; the tournament was rigged; they didn’t need anything else.” &nbsp;“The referee was unfair, unfair, unfair, unfair.”

Egypt’s head coach Hossam Hassan, who also received a yellow card, ripped the referee for his decisions. &nbsp;“I will say what’s on my mind regardless of the consequence; this was clearly a rigged match, and the whole world saw it” &nbsp;“And I want to say one more thing, if they want them [Argentina] to win so bad, why call everyone to come and participate?” he said after the match that knocked Egypt out of the World Cup.&nbsp; &nbsp;Meanwhile, Messi’s Argentina has qualified for the Last 8 of this edition in North America and will face the winner of the Switzerland-Colombia fixture in the quarterfinal.

Egypt's Mostafa Ziko and coach Hossam Hassan slam the referee, claiming "the game is rigged" after a controversial VAR call spoils their 2-0 lead, allowing Argentina to secure a dramatic 3-2 World Cup win.

Egyptian players were disappointed and felt let down by a few refereeing decisions that eventually turned the game in Argentina’s favour, which pulled off perhaps their best win of the tournament in Atlanta on Tuesday (Jul 7). Trailing 0-2 with close to 20 minutes remaining, Argentina, inspired by Lionel Messi's leadership and a crucial goal, made a stunning comeback and smashed three goals inside 14 minutes to knock Egypt out of the World Cup. Mostafa Ziko, Egypt’s striker, who scored the second goal in the 67th minute, blasted the match referee for his alleged bias towards the defending champions, saying, ‘This game is rigged.’ Egypt opened the scoring in the first half through a header by Yasser Ibrahim, with Argentina failing to find the back of the net. Early in the second half, Mohamed Salah’s crisp pass saw Ziko convert it into a goal, with Egypt leading 2-0. While the players and the fans erupted in joy, potentially sniffing the biggest upset of the tournament thus far, a VAR review disallowed the goal for a foul that occurred nearly 100 yards from the scoring position. The match referee rushed to check the replays and later cancelled Egypt’s second goal and perhaps their biggest chance of reaching the World Cup quarterfinal for the first time. Even though the African nation scored soon after through Ziko’s precision, they failed to stop Argentina from making the mother of all comebacks. Also read| Mother of All Comebacks: Argentina stun Egypt late to secure quarterfinal berth Highly upset with the referee’s call, doubled up with another decision to overlook a foul on an Egyptian player late in the stoppage time, just before Argentina made it 3-2, Ziko said, “Congratulations to Argentina on the World Cup; the tournament was rigged; they didn’t need anything else.” “The referee was unfair, unfair, unfair, unfair.”

Egypt's Mostafa Ziko and coach Hossam Hassan slam the referee, claiming "the game is rigged" after a controversial VAR call spoils their 2-0 lead, allowing Argentina to secure a dramatic 3-2 World Cup win.

‘The Game is Rigged!’ – Egypt’s Ziko blasts match referee after dramatic Argentina comeback

argentina-vs-egypt-match-referee-controversy

Argentina Vs Egypt Match Referee Controversy, News on Argentina Vs Egypt Match Referee Controversy, stories on Argentina Vs Egypt Match Referee Controversy, articles on Argentina Vs Egypt Match Referee Controversy, Argentina Vs Egypt Match Referee Controversy stories at Wion, Argentina Vs Egypt Match Referee Controversy news, Argentina Vs Egypt Match Referee Controversy latest news

argentina vs-egypt-match-referee-controversy

Egypt ‘cheated’ to keep Messi and Argentina in World Cup, says furious coach Hassan

‘The Game is Rigged!’ – Egypt’s Ziko blasts referee after Argentina comeback