8 July 2026

Egyptian forward Mostafa Ziko has accused the World Cup of being “fixed” following Egypt’s controversial round of 16 defeat to Argentina, a result that left head coach Hossam Hassan furious over what he described as “unfair” officiating.

Argentina mounted a stunning late comeback to win 3-2 after Egypt had taken a 2-0 lead. The Pharaohs had a goal controversially disallowed and protested strongly over what they believed was a foul in the build-up to Enzo Fernandez’s decisive goal.

Ziko saw a goal ruled out when Egypt were leading 1-0, while Mohamed Salah appealed for a penalty before Argentina launched a counter-attack that ended with Fernandez scoring a header deep into stoppage time.

“The referee was really not fair,” a visibly angry Ziko said after the match. “The injustice was clear.

“We played really well in the early stages. There was unfairness right from the start. A 2-0 lead is not enough to beat Argentina.

“It is obvious that this tournament has been fixed. But God is enough for us.”

Speaking later to Canadian broadcaster TSN, Ziko added: “We are so sorry to the people of Egypt. I am so sorry. We wanted to make you all proud. It was not in our destiny. It was the referee. The cup is being directed towards Argentina.”

Egyptian players surrounded referee Francois Letexier in protest after Argentina’s third goal, as emotions ran high on the pitch.

In the aftermath, Egypt’s manager Hossam Hassan declared that he would “never watch the World Cup again, because there’s no justice in this competition.”

He continued: “We did not see respect or fair play. A clear penalty was denied, and another incident that should have been reviewed for a penalty wasn’t even checked by VAR. Our second goal was disallowed for reasons that make no sense.”

“It looked as if the referee was under pressure from the Argentinian side, and that influenced the result,” Hassan asserted.

“Life is unfair, the world is unfair, fine—but why is there no fairness in sport? I cannot accept this result or the way this match unfolded.”

Hassan was also frustrated with the 12 pm ET kick-off time, despite air-conditioning inside Atlanta Stadium easing heat concerns.

“Whoever schedules these matches clearly has never played football. You never schedule a match at noon,” he said.

Speaking to beIN Sports, via France24, Hassan added: “Maybe they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition. Maybe they wanted Lionel Messi to continue. In football, there are sometimes external influences that go beyond tactics. The world champions received support at every level.”

“I told the referee it wasn’t fair. Argentina’s victory was undeserved. Once I’m back home, I’ll never watch the World Cup again—there’s no justice in this competition.”