FIFA biased toward Messi, Argentina? Egypt's Hossam Hassan alleges
What's the story
Egypt's national football team manager Hossam Hassan has accused FIFA of bias in favor of Lionel Messi and Argentina. His remarks came after a controversial FIFA World Cup 2026 round-of-16 match, where Argentina staged a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Egypt. The game was marred by contentious refereeing and VAR decisions, which left the Egyptian camp fuming.
Match summary
Argentina stun Egypt 3-2 in World Cup
The match started with Egypt taking a 2-0 lead, thanks to goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Ziko. However, as the game neared its end, Argentina made a stunning comeback. Cristian Romero scored first before Messi equalized. Enzo Fernandez then sealed the victory with a last-minute header. The major controversy erupted just before Argentina's winning goal when Egypt thought they deserved a penalty for Julian Alvarez's challenge on Mohamed Salah in the box.
VAR controversy
Egyptian camp fuming over VAR decisions
The Egyptian camp was left fuming after two major VAR decisions. The first was a penalty appeal for Julian Alvarez's challenge on Salah in the box, which was turned down by referee Francois Letexier and not reviewed by VAR. The second incident saw a goal from Egypt being disallowed after a foul in the build-up was spotted during a VAR review. These controversial calls led to heated confrontations between Egypt's staff and officials post-match.
Post-match remarks
'Why isn't there any fairness in sport?'
After the match, Hassan openly questioned the fairness of the tournament. He said, "We were better, but football is unfair. 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 later added: "Why isn't there any fairness in sport? In football? I do not want to try to put it nicely here with beautiful wording. We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice."
Player reactions
Egypt's Ziko, Garry Kasparov slam referee
Mostafa Ziko, who scored Egypt's second goal, didn't hold back in an emotional interview, blaming the referee for their defeat. "Referee, not fair. Unjust, unjust referee. An unjust person. An injustice that is so clear," he said. Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov also slammed the officiating on X over one of the controversial incidents in the match.