​A call from Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to FIFA president Gianni Infantino would probably lack the same impact as a message from the leader of the free world, and there isn’t much El-Sisi could add at this stage. The Egyptian team’s coach summed up the mood after Tuesday’s World Cup Round of 16 defeat to Argentina. Hossam Hassan vented his frustration with the pristine, supposedly incorruptible international soccer federation, suggesting that FIFA intends to keep Argentina and superstar Lionel Messi in the tournament for as long as possible. “We looked better than the reigning champions—better in every aspect—but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it,” Hassan told reporters, via Mark Ogden of ESPN. “Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.”
There are moments in football when factors beyond pure technique shape outcomes. The world champions seemed to receive support at every level, Hassan contended. He noted that his team had objected beforehand to the appointed referee, François Letexier of France. After the loss, Egypt’s anger centered on the use of VAR to overturn a first-half goal that would have put Egypt ahead 2-0; Egypt did later score a second goal nonetheless. They also argued that a potential foul on Argentina just before the goal that decided the match in extra time was not reviewed by VAR. “We haven’t seen respect or fair play,” Hassan said. “A penalty was ruled out. It was not even checked by the VAR, and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed. I want to put it in beautiful words and say, ‘Hard luck,’ but we have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice.”
The match itself delivered a dramatic finale, with Argentina scoring three times after the 78th minute, a turning point that left Egypt with a very different interpretation of the result. In the wake of the game, the Egyptian Football Association called for a full investigation into the referees and the video assistant referees, citing “blatant errors” and alleging that key footage had not been reviewed because it might have favored the Egyptian national team. They demanded the exclusion of the referee and the entire crew from the World Cup following their assessment of the mistakes, and they described the situation as including “the crime of discrimination against the Egyptian national team.”
This controversy marks a pattern for many who follow the sport closely. It is the second time in as many matches that questions have arisen about whether FIFA is tilting the scales in favor of Argentina. Just days earlier, after Argentina’s dramatic comeback win over Cape Verde, Infantino had stated that he “suffered” with Argentina, before quickly adding that he was neutral. The rhetoric around Infantino has varied widely of late. Some observers describe him in admiring terms, while others use less flattering epithets, and a growing chorus questions his perceived neutrality given the club’s popularity and the national team’s high-profile success.
In the broader arc of the tournament, the Egyptian setback has intensified debates about the integrity of officiating and the influence of politics in sport. For Egypt, the experience has fueled calls for transparency and accountability in refereeing decisions, along with a renewed focus on defending the team’s interests in the global arena. The calls for disciplinary action against the officiating crew reflect a broader demand for consistent standards and for the recognition that all teams deserve equal treatment on the field. As the discourse continues, the weight of this argument is likely to persist, drawing attention to how decisions off the pitch can shape the narrative of the game as much as the goals scored on it.