Egypt coach Hossam Hassan has called his team's 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the FIFA World Cup round of 16 an "injustice," suggesting that officiating decisions favored the defending champions and star player Lionel Messi. The match, held in Atlanta, saw Egypt take a 2-0 lead before Argentina mounted a dramatic comeback, capped by a late goal from Enzo Fernández after Messi scored the equalizer and assisted another goal.

Hassan expressed frustration in the post-match press conference, saying, "We have been cheated unfairly today; we have suffered injustice." He specifically criticized the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system for disallowing a Mostafa Zico goal—when Egypt led 1-0—after a foul was detected earlier in the play. Later, Egypt also believed they should have received a penalty for a shirt pull by Alexis Mac Allister in the buildup to Argentina's stoppage-time winner, but there was no VAR review for that incident.

Hassan told reporters, "Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running," as reported by ESPN. He added, "We haven't seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out, was not even checked by VAR. A second goal was remarkably disallowed."

Egyptian players echoed their coach's sentiments. Forward Mostafa Zico said, "We were hard done by [the referee] today, and everyone saw that. After the 2-0 result, everything went against us and worked against us. I don't even know why the second goal was disallowed." Goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir and reserve Mohamed Alaa also cited refereeing as a key factor in the match's outcome.

The Egyptian Football Association released a statement, cited by ESPN, saying it "cannot remain silent regarding the refereeing decisions" and questioned the consistency and fairness of the VAR system, urging FIFA to ensure "the highest standards of integrity, fairness, and transparency."

No official response has been issued by FIFA regarding the Egyptian FA's complaint. Argentina advances to the quarterfinals, while Egypt's tournament ends amid ongoing debate and calls for greater scrutiny of refereeing and VAR decisions.

Grant Smith