{"id":788252,"date":"2026-07-09T02:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T02:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/788252\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T02:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T02:29:11","slug":"egypt-v-argentina-world-cup-penalty-var","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/788252\/","title":{"rendered":"Egypt v Argentina | World Cup | Penalty, VAR"},"content":{"rendered":"

Egypt star Mostafa Ziko claimed the World Cup is \u201crigged\u201d after defending champions Argentina rallied from behind to stun the Pharaohs 3-2 in stoppage time of their controversial Round-of-16 clash.<\/p>\n

Lionel Messi\u2019s Argentina came from 2-0 down with 11 minutes remaining in Atlanta to incredibly qualify for the quarter-finals on Wednesday (AEST).<\/a><\/p>\n

It was a showdown filled with controversy. Yasser Ibrahim headed home a 15th minute goal to give Egypt a shock lead, while Ziko had one goal controversially disallowed<\/a> before scoring his second as the seven-time African champions led 2-0 as late as the 79th minute.<\/p>\n

\u2018SURELY THIS IS NOT WITHIN VAR\u2019S REMIT?!\u2019 Why were Egypt denied their second goal for a foul down the other end of the field?<\/a>
REPORT: Argentina come from TWO GOALS DOWN with 11 minutes to go to STUN Egypt in 3-2 epic, Messi makes more history<\/a><\/p>\n

But defender Cristian Romero scored Argentina\u2019s first non-Messi goal this tournament before the Golden Boot leader himself restored parity four minutes later. Then, Enzo Fernandez broke Egypt\u2019s hearts in the third minute of stoppage time.<\/p>\n

\"\"Image source: BeIN Sports<\/p>\n

There was also anger from Egypt that there was not a check on apparent foul by Alexis Mac Alliser in the immediate build-up to Fernandez\u2019s last-gasp winner.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations to Argentina on the World Cup; the tournament was rigged, they didn\u2019t need anything else,\u201d Ziko said during his on-field interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe referee was unfair, unfair, unfair, unfair.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan was also scathing of the refereeing as he hit out at \u201cexternal factors\u201d following the country\u2019s dramatic World Cup exit.<\/p>\n

QFS:\u00a0Who has qualified for the World Cup\u2019s quarter-finals?<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8 BREAKING \u2013 MOSTAFA ZIKO: <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udde3 “The referee is unfair, God is sufficient for me and the best disposer of affairs. He’s wasting the effort of an entire nation.”<\/p>\n

“The cup is being given to Argentina.”
pic.twitter.com\/Um7MJkevpU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Salah Updates #WorldCup (@SalahUpdates) July 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe looked better than the reigning champions \u2014 better in everything \u2014 but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it,\u201d Hassan told reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champion received support at every level.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere seem to be pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome. We were objecting to the selection of the referee because of the French situation [Argentina beat\u00a0France<\/a>\u00a0in the 2022 World Cup final], but everybody has to suffer at some point and we suffered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out [alleged foul on\u00a0Mohamed Salah<\/a>], it was not even checked by the VAR and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have all seen the shirt pulled back [by Mac Allister] and not even a VAR check. Life is unfair, normal life is unfair, so why is there no fairness in sports?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not convinced by this outcome and the way things unfolded in this match.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to put it in beautiful words and say hard luck, but we have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hassan was involved in a verbal confrontation with referee Francois Letexier post-match and he told reporters: \u201cWhat I told the referee was \u2018this is unfair\u2019. I said maybe he is carrying a scar or has something to hide.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf somebody is trying to hide something, they often fail to hide it. Anyway, when I am finished, I am not going to watch another game of this tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n