Egypt cry 'injustice' after Argentina's 3-2 World Cup comeback
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- Hossam Hassan said Egypt were victims of "injustice" and "external factors" in their 3-2 defeat, suggesting FIFA wanted Messi to "stay in the running" at the tournament after Argentina erased a 2-0 deficit.
- Egypt had a goal disallowed following a VAR review, and the video assistant did not check an apparent foul by Alexis Mac Allister in the buildup to Enzo Fernández's stoppage-time winner.
- Hassan said Egypt had objected to French referee François Letexier because of the "French situation" — a reference to Argentina beating France in the 2022 World Cup final — and confronted Letexier at full time, accusing him of "having something to hide."
- Messi created one goal and scored another to complete Argentina's comeback after the reigning champions trailed 2-0.
- Forward Mostafa Zico said "strange things happened on the pitch" and that he saw no reason for Egypt's disallowed goal, while reserve goalkeeper Mohamed Alaa said an alleged foul on Mo Salah was "turned against us into a counterattack goal."
- Captain Mo Salah addressed the squad in the locker room afterward, telling players "hard luck, it's over. It's God's decree" and urging them to build on the tournament going forward.
Why it matters: The complaint lands on FIFA at a moment when officiating integrity is already under scrutiny — Hassan publicly framed a refereeing decision as favoritism toward the defending champions and Messi, and his pre-match objection to a French official explicitly tied the appointment to the 2022 final. That puts pressure on FIFA to explain both the disallowed Egypt goal and the VAR non-review of the Mac Allister incident in the deciding play.
