Atlanta [US], July 8 (ANI): Following a dramatic and controversial 3-2 Round of 16 loss to defending champions Argentina, Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan has announced a personal boycott of the remainder of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, citing a lack of “fair play” and “justice” in the tournament.
Egypt appeared to be on the verge of a historic upset after Yasser Ibrahim scored a header in the 15th minute, and goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir later saved a penalty from Lionel Messi. The Pharaohs extended their lead in the 67th minute through a Mostafa Ziko goal following a swift counterattack involving Mohamed Salah and Haissem Hassan, leaving Argentina seemingly destined for an early exit.
The match shifted in the final minutes as Argentina mounted a late comeback. Cristian Romero scored a header in the 79th minute, followed by an equaliser from Messi four minutes later, before Enzo Fernandez secured a stoppage-time winner to seal the 3-2 victory for Argentina.
Following the final whistle, a visibly frustrated Hassan told reporters that his team had been treated unfairly. “Argentina’s victory is entirely undeserved. I promise you, once I return today, I will not watch football in this World Cup at all, because there is no justice in it. My personal protest is that I will not watch this World Cup again. When I get back home and back to our country, I am not watching it,” Hassan told reporters after the match, as quoted by ESPN UK.
“We had the right to win, and I don’t want to say ‘hard luck’ to us – No. We left with honour, honour on our part. But the final result, aside from being highly influenced, is a far cry from the ‘fair play’ that FIFA talks about and far from respect. There was neither respect nor fair play today,” he added.
Hassan suggested that external influences had impacted the result. “We looked better than the reigning champions — better in everything –, but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it,” Hassan said, as quoted by ESPN.
“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running. In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champion received support at every level,” he said.
“I want to put it in beautiful words and say hard luck, but we have been treated unfairly, and it has been an injustice,” he added. (ANI)
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