Egypt Angry over Controversial Referee Decision, World Cup Claims

The Egyptian national team suffered disappointment after losing 3-2 to Argentina in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. In that match, a goal scored by Mostafa Ziko was controversially disallowed, and the Egyptian team also claimed that they should have had a penalty before Argentina scored the winning goal. Egypt coach, Hossam Hassan, was very angry with the decision taken by referee Francois Letexier, which he considered unfair and detrimental to his team. Hassan stated that this result reflected the lack of fairness in the competition, saying, "I will never watch the World Cup again because there is no fairness in this competition. We don't see respect or fair play. A penalty was overturned and a second incident that should have been checked for a penalty for us was not even checked by VAR. A too strange second goal was also overruled. It seems like there was pressure on the Argentinian side from the referee that led to this result. Life is not fair. The world is not fair. But why is there no justice in sport? I am not convinced by this result and the way this match went." In that match, Egypt was leading 2-0 before Argentina made a spectacular comeback. Ziko scored the first goal for Egypt, but his goal was ruled out which left his team in trouble. Mohamed Salah, the star of the Egyptian team, also claimed that they should have had a penalty before Argentina's counter-attack led to Enzo Fernandez's goal in stoppage time.  Hassan also criticized the match's kick-off time which is scheduled for 12 noon ET, even though the stadium in Atlanta is air-conditioned. "Whoever scheduled this match is a person who has never played football. You never schedule a football match at 12 noon," he added. Ziko, who scored the goal for Egypt, told Canadian media, "It was unfair from the referee. That was very clear. He destroyed all our efforts with his decision. We were leading 2-0 and we couldn't do anything, it was all up to God. We are very sorry to the Egyptian people. We wanted to make you all happy. However, it was not written. It was the referee's decision. The cup goes to Argentina." This match caused a lot of controversy and criticism of the referee's decisions, and many hoped that FIFA would evaluate the decisions taken in this match. Egypt now has to reflect on their journey to the 2026 World Cup. --- ## Related Articles 1. [USMNT Player Ratings After World Cup Exit to Belgium](https://pitchpulsemedia.com/en/news/usmnt-player-ratings-after-world-cup-exit-to-belgium) 2. [Neymar's Bitter World Cup Exit as Brazil Falls to Norway](https://pitchpulsemedia.com/en/news/neymar-s-bitter-world-cup-exit-as-brazil-falls-to-norway)

Read more on our latest coverage and stay tuned for updates on what happens next.