Hossam Hassan, coach of the Egypt national team, harshly criticized the refereeing after the 3-2 defeat to Argentina, at Atlanta Stadium, in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
Egypt coach says: "It was clearly a bought game"
Hossam Hassan, coach of the Egypt national team, harshly criticized the refereeing after the 3-2 defeat to Argentina, at Atlanta Stadium, in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. Speaking to the international press...
Speaking to the international press after the match, the coach stated that the result was influenced by decisions on and off the field.
"I will say what is in my soul, regardless of the consequences: this was clearly a game bought, and the whole world saw it. We were better. What happened was not fair or balanced", he declared.
According to Hassan, the match would have been affected by internal factors, during the game, and external factors, before the confrontation. The coach also stated that Argentina would have put pressure on the referee.
"There seemed to have been pressure from Argentina on the referee, which led to this outcome. We had already expressed our objections to this referee," he said.
The coach also contested the third Argentine goal. For him, there was a foul at the beginning of the play.
"There wasn't even a VAR review. We all saw that they pulled the shirt, but the play wasn't reversed to disallow the goal. That's life, it's unfair. We deserved the victory," he said.
Hassan also said that the impact of the elimination goes beyond the sporting result.
“We saw no respect or fair play,” he declared.
The coach once again criticized referee François Letexier and stated that he felt distrust during a conversation with the referee.
"I thought maybe he was hiding something, that maybe he had something to hide. Those who have something to hide, sometimes, can't hide it completely, and that's exactly what I felt in that conversation," he said.
Despite the elimination, Hassan stated that Egypt came close to advancing.
"We had victory very close. It's the small details that make the difference in big games. We are very sad, because we had the game in our hands", he lamented.
Finally, the coach promised not to watch the rest of the World Cup.
"I will not watch the rest of this FIFA World Cup, and I promise that. It is my internal struggle, my personal objection, my own way of raising my voice and standing firm. I will not watch a single game of this tournament", he concluded.
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Source: Noticias ao Minuto - Esporte
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