Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan said the referee was “unfair” and claimed the World Cup was “directed towards Argentina” following their dramatic 3-2 defeat in the last 16.
Argentina scored three goals in just 13 minutes to steer them clear of a shocking exit as reigning champions, which sets up a quarter-final with Colombia or Switzerland at 2am (UK and Ireland time) on Sunday.
However, the dramatic late winner was clouded by controversy after Hassan claimed his side were denied a penalty moments before Julian Alvarez kickstarted the counter-attack, which led to Enzo Fernandez’s 92nd-minute header.
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Alvarez tackled Mohamed Salah inside the penalty area and caught the forward on his foot before taking the ball. VAR did not appear to check the incident.
Alexis Mac Allister also pulled Hamdi Fathy down inside the area moments before but play was waved on.
These incidents arrived after Egypt had already had a goal ruled out for Zico earlier in the game with the score at 1-0, following a VAR check which deemed Lisandro Martinez had been fouled in the build-up.
Image:
Egypt crowd the referee during their loss to Argentina
Speaking in the press conference after the game, Hassan said: “Life is unfair. The world is unfair. Okay, but why isn’t there any fairness in sports? I’m not convinced by this outcome and by the way things unfolded in this match.
“The referee is unfair, God is sufficient for me and the best disposer of affairs. He’s wasting the effort of an entire nation. The cup is directed towards Argentina.”
Hassan was booked by French referee Francois Letexier for protesting after Argentina’s winner when he crossed his arms in front of him, which is the FIFA-backed symbol for players and coaches to alert the referee of a racist incident.
The Pharaohs boss did not refer to his gesture after the match, but added: “We haven’t seen respect or fair play.
“A penalty [for us] was ruled out, it was not even checked by the VAR and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed.
“We have all seen the shirt pulled back [by Mac Allister] and not even a VAR check.
“There seems to have been pressure on the Argentine side on the referee that has brought about this outcome.”
Sky Sports News has approached FIFA for comment.
Zico: I will not talk about the refereeing
Egypt forward Zico, who scored but had another disallowed, was asked if his tears after the game were for exiting the World Cup or the refereeing decisions his team faced.
“Both. We were hard done by [the referee] today, and everyone saw that,” he said. “I won’t talk about something like this.
Image:
Mostafa Zico walks off the pitch after losing to Argentina
“We were winning 2-0. After the 2-0 result, everything went against us and worked against us. I don’t even know why the second goal was disallowed.
“I don’t see any reason for it. But we must look for a solution so that a second goal doesn’t come. He wanted to disallow the third one too, but thank God, God didn’t grant him success.
”The refereeing was obvious in front of everyone. I won’t talk about it, the refereeing was clear. We had a goal disallowed, and we had a penalty.
“The penalty was turned against us into a counter-attack goal.”