Hossein Zohrevand/WikiMedia Commons
After Argentina’s dramatic win over Egypt, it has been claimed by the latter’s manager that the powers that be are conspiring to keep Lionel Messi in the World Cup.
The current holders looked down and out when Egypt took a 2-0 lead into the final stages of the round of 16 clash with Argentina at Atlanta Stadium.
However, goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi, and a last-gasp winner from Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez turned the game on its head and sent Argentina through to the quarter-finals.
Egypt manager calls out refereeing decisions
During the course of the game, Egypt had a goal ruled out for a shirt pull, a penalty shout waved away by French referee Francois Letexier, and even claimed a trip on Mo Salah occurred in the build-up to Argentina’s winner.
Speaking after the game, Egypt manager Hossam Hassan called out what he felt was an “injustice” and suggested FIFA are trying to keep Messi in the tournament for as long as possible.
He said: “There have been a lot of things to be questioned on and off the pitch. Negative aspects all around. It’s just about credibility, lack of credibility with how things unfolded.
“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running. The world champion received support at every level. There seem to be pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome.”
Hassan has since stated he will not be watching the rest of the World Cup due to the nature of his team’s defeat.
"It's clear that this tournament has been fixed."
Egypt's Mostafa Zico was not happy with some of the decisions in their game against Argentina. pic.twitter.com/VbDdFbkRBC
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 7, 2026
Egypt star Mostafa Zico chimed in with similar claims, adding: “The referee was really not fair. The injustice was clear.
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“We did a really good job in the early stages. But, there’s been an unfairness from the start of the match. A 2-0 lead against Argentina is not enough. It’s clear that this tournament has been fixed.”
Argentina will now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals with a place in the last four up for grabs, and a potential rematch against France in the final looming.
