Egypt's manager, Hossam Hassan, has vehemently accused FIFA of rigging the World Cup following a series of controversial refereeing decisions during his team's dramatic 3-2 defeat to Argentina. Hassan suggested that world football's governing body favored Lionel Messi and Argentina for marketing purposes, aiming to keep the star player in the tournament.
Argentina secured a remarkable comeback victory with late goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi, and Enzo Fernandez after trailing 2-0 with less than 15 minutes remaining. The match concluded in chaos, with Egypt's coaching staff confronting the referee, Francois Letexier, leading to goalkeeper coach Saafan El-Sagheer receiving a red card. Hassan himself was seen in a heated exchange with the official.
Fears of unfair play were amplified when Egypt believed they should have been awarded a penalty moments before Argentina's winning goal, as Mohamed Salah was brought down in the box by Julian Alvarez. Earlier in the second half, an Egyptian goal was disallowed by VAR due to a foul in the build-up.
"We were better, but football is unfair," Hassan stated in his post-match interview. "It could be a matter of marketing, they could want to make a World Cup with the champion of the last World Cup, they want Messi to exist (in the tournament)." He expressed gratitude to his players but lamented that "sometimes there are other factors that make you struggle." Hassan later added, "We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice."
He further claimed that the result was influenced by both "internal" and "external" factors and that Egypt had formally objected to Letexier's selection as the referee for the match.
Egypt's player Ziko, who scored the team's second goal, also voiced his frustration, describing Letexier as an "unjust" referee. "He's wasting the effort of an entire nation. Since the beginning of the game, we were leaving the game winning 2-0 against Argentina. But the cup has already been given," Ziko said in tears. "Congratulations to Argentina on the World Cup. Congratulations. You don't need anything else."
These accusations come amid broader scrutiny of FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino. Online discussions have highlighted that Argentina has been awarded eight penalties in their last 12 World Cup matches, a statistic that proved crucial to their 2022 victory. In a notable instance following Egypt's elimination, FIFA confirmed that all officials for France's quarter-final against Morocco would be Argentinian, marking the first time in the tournament that all match referees would be from the same nation.
Despite the widespread claims of bias and rigging, no concrete evidence has yet emerged to support allegations of corruption or match manipulation against FIFA or Infantino. Messi's Argentina will proceed to face either Switzerland or Colombia in the quarter-finals.