Hassan blasts officiating after Egypt’s World Cup exit to Argentina

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said his team was denied fair treatment after Argentina rallied from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 in the World Cup round of 16 in Atlanta. The result sent the defending champions into the quarterfinals and ended Egypt’s bid to reach the last eight for the first time.

According to AFP and Reuters, Hassan used his post-match news conference to accuse the officials of costing Egypt the game. He said Egypt had been “cheated” and had suffered “injustice” after two major decisions went against his side.

Egypt took the lead inside the opening 15 minutes through Yasser Ibrahim’s header, according to the match report. Argentina then won a penalty after Nicolas Tagliafico was tripped, but Lionel Messi’s spot kick was saved by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir.

Egypt later had a Mostafa Zico goal disallowed while leading 1-0. VAR intervened after identifying a foul on Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez earlier in the attack, according to AFP and Reuters.

Zico did score in the second half to put Egypt 2-0 ahead. Argentina then cut the deficit through Cristian Romero before Messi equalised, taking his tournament total to eight goals.

Penalty complaint before Argentina winner

Egypt’s anger centred on another incident before Enzo Fernandez scored Argentina’s winning goal. Hassan said Egypt should have had a penalty for a pull by Alexis Mac Allister on Hamdy Fathy, and he complained that VAR did not review the incident.

Hassan told reporters that Egypt had not been shown respect or fair play. He said the disallowed goal and the penalty claim were evidence of decisions that had shaped the match.

The Egypt coach also told BeIN Sports that officials may have been influenced by a desire to keep Argentina and Messi in the tournament. He said “external factors” can affect football and claimed the world champions had received backing “at every level.”

Hassan said he would stop watching the rest of the World Cup as his form of protest, according to AFP and Reuters.

Messi’s penalty record and Egypt’s approach

Messi’s saved penalty continued a mixed World Cup record from the spot. AFP and Reuters reported that he has missed four of his eight non-shootout penalties at World Cups, including two in this tournament.

Egypt began the match with a more attacking plan than Hassan has often used, according to the report. His teams have typically relied on a compact defence and counterattacks, but Egypt pushed Argentina early and took advantage.

Shobeir’s saves helped Egypt keep its lead until halftime. Hassan praised his players afterward, noting that most of the squad plays in Egypt’s domestic league, while many opponents have players based in Europe. He said Egypt had shown it could compete, with Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush among the exceptions to the largely local-based group.

Hassan also criticised the scheduling. The match kicked off at noon local time, four days after both teams had won their round-of-32 matches, and he said that was unsuitable for players preparing to compete at World Cup level.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.