Egypt Suspects Foul Play: "That was a rigged game!"

After their unfortunate exit in the World Cup round of 16, Egyptian national coach Hossam Hassan has leveled serious accusations.

"We were better than the world champions, but the result was influenced by internal and external factors," said the 59-year-old after the 2-3 loss against defending champions Argentina, taking aim at French referee Francois Letexier.

"The Argentinians put pressure on the referee," Hassan claimed, stressing that they had "rejected" him beforehand. The game-deciding scene, in particular, infuriated him: "A penalty for us wasn't even checked by VAR."

According to the Egyptians, there was a foul on Hamdy Fathy in the Argentinian penalty area before Enzo Fernández's (90.+2) winning goal for Argentina. Furthermore, a goal by Mostafa Zico (58.) was disallowed for his team "for whatever reasons."

"We Experienced No Respect"

"We deserved the win, but we experienced no respect and no fair play," Hassan fumed. "Life is unfair, the world is unfair, but why is there no fairness in football, in sports? We have been treated unfairly."

His final verdict: "That was a rigged game, and the whole world saw it. If they absolutely want Argentina to win, why do they invite other teams at all?"

When he returns to Egypt, he will not watch another minute of the World Cup because there is simply no justice in this competition. "Did they just want the defending champions to remain in the tournament? Or did they want to see Messi continue to play?" he wondered.

"Argentina Is Being Gifted the Trophy"

Zico was similarly dumbfounded. "We played an incredible match," he emphasized. "But strange things happened in the second half that everyone saw. That's crystal clear."

The referee was unfair and "nullified the efforts of an entire nation. Argentina is being gifted the trophy!" claimed the scorer of the temporary 2-0 lead.

"Many Things Are Questionable"

Once he got going, his coach also complained about the midday kick-off time. "Whoever schedules a match for 12:00 PM has never played football themselves," he said. "Are the players supposed to eat lunch at 7:30 AM?"

His conclusion after the World Cup exit: "Many things are questionable – on and off the field. This harms credibility."