Egypt Was ‘Cheated’ By Messi’s Argentina, Coach Hassan Rages After World Cup Exit

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan has accused match officials of denying his side a place in the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals after Argentina fought back from two goals down to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory on Tuesday.

An emotional Hassan criticized the officiating after the match, insisting the Pharaohs were unfairly treated in a contest overshadowed by controversial VAR decisions.

“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 during his post-match press conference.

Egypt looked on course for a historic last-eight berth after taking a two-goal lead. However, the momentum shifted following a VAR review that disallowed a Mostafa Zico strike while the North Africans were leading 1-0, with officials ruling that Lisandro Martinez had been fouled earlier in the build-up.

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Zico later restored Egypt’s advantage by scoring what appeared to be a decisive second goal, putting the Pharaohs within touching distance of a first-ever World Cup quarter-final appearance.

Argentina, however, mounted a spirited comeback. Cristian Romero pulled one back before Lionel Messi, who had earlier seen a first-half penalty saved, levelled the score with his eighth goal of the tournament.

The defending champions completed the turnaround in the closing stages through Enzo Fernandez, but the winning goal sparked further controversy.

Egypt argued they should have been awarded a penalty moments earlier after Alexis Mac Allister was alleged to have pulled Hamdy Fathy’s shirt inside the penalty area. Hassan claimed the incident was neither reviewed nor addressed by the Video Assistant Referee.

“We haven’t seen respect or fair play. There has not been respect or fair play,” he 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.”

Still visibly frustrated, Hassan said the events of the match had left him disillusioned with the tournament.

“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.”