Egypt's manager, Hossam Hassan, has accused officials and unspecified external parties of manipulating their recent FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match against Argentina for commercial reasons. The North African team held a 2-0 lead until the 79th minute of the game in Atlanta before Argentina staged a late comeback, ultimately winning 3-2 with an injury-time goal.
Hassan expressed strong dissatisfaction with several key decisions during the match. He highlighted a disallowed Egyptian goal when the score was 1-0, which VAR determined was preceded by a foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martinez. The Egyptian camp also contended that Mohamed Salah was fouled in the penalty box in the build-up to Argentina's winning goal.
Following the match, Hassan stated that "football isn't fair, and what happened was unfair, despite FIFA upholding the motto of 'fair play'." He questioned the disallowed goal, suggesting the score could have been 3-1 in Egypt's favor. Hassan further elaborated that "there are other off-field factors that have nothing to do with technical aspects." He speculated that "marketing issues are the cause; they don't want Messi to be eliminated, they want the world champion to continue in the competition." Hassan also noted perceived support for the Argentinian team at "every level," suggesting "pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome."
Lionel Messi, a prominent figure in the tournament and a global sports icon, has numerous commercial endorsements with brands such as Adidas, Lays, Lego, and Mastercard. These sponsorships reportedly contribute significantly to his annual earnings. Messi has scored eight goals in the current World Cup, leading the Golden Boot race.
The referee for the match, Francois Letexier, became a target of criticism following Hassan's remarks. Hassan posted an image of Letexier on his Instagram with the caption "The world is watching." Reports indicate that Letexier subsequently deleted his own Instagram account amid the online backlash.
Argentina is scheduled to play Switzerland in the quarter-finals. At the time of reporting, neither FIFA nor the Argentinian football federation had responded to Hassan's allegations.