Egypt star Mostafa Ziko has accused the World Cup of being “fixed” following their controversial last 16 defeat to Argentina with manager Hossam Hassan left furious by “unfair” decisions.
Argentina pulled off a miraculous late comeback, winning 3-2 after trailing 2-0 to the Pharaohs, who had a goal controversially disallowed and protested angrily over a perceived foul in the build-up to Enzo Fernandez’s winning goal.
Ziko was denied a goal at 1-0 to Egypt, while Mohamed Salah has claimed a penalty before the Albiceleste counter-attacked, leading to Fernandez’s headed goal in stoppage time.
“The referee was really not fair,” an irate Ziko said at full-time. “The injustice was clear.
“We did a really good job in the early stages of the match. There’s been an unfairness, right from the start from the match. A 2-0 lead isn’t enough to beat Argentina.
“It is clear that this tournament has been fixed. But God is sufficient for us.”
He later told Canadian broadcaster TSN: “We are so sorry (to the people of Egypt). I am so sorry. We wanted to make you all happy. It was not in the cards. It was the referee. The cup is directed towards Argentina.”
In protest to the decisions by the referee Francois Letexier and officials, Hossam Hassan insists he will “never watch the World Cup again, because there’s no justice in this competition.”
He added: “We haven’t seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out and a second (incident) that should have been checked for a penalty for us was not even checked by the VAR. A second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed.
“There seems to have been pressure on the Argentinian side on the referee that has brought about this outcome.
“Life is unfair. The world is unfair. OK, but why isn’t there any fairness in sports? I’m not convinced by this outcome and by the way things unfolded in this match.”
Hassan was also upset at the kick-off time of 12pm ET, despite the Atlanta Stadium’s air-conditioning negating any prospect of hotter conditions.
“Whoever schedules these matches is someone who has never played football. You never schedule a football match at 12 noon,” he said.
Hassan then told beIN Sports, via France24: “Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition? Perhaps they wanted (Lionel) Messi to stay in the running? In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions benefited from support at every level.
“I told the referee that what was happening wasn’t fair. It’s an undeserved victory for Argentina. Once I’m back in my country and at home, I’ll never watch the World Cup again, because there’s no justice in this competition.”
The Egyptian FA has since officially criticised the refereeing decisions in the game and said it would not remain silent over the improper use of VAR.
"Several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game," the federation said in a statement posted on social media.
"A number of football experts and specialist analysts, both locally and internationally, have highlighted controversial and influential refereeing incidents during the match.
"This underlines the importance of maintaining the highest standards of integrity, fairness, and transparency in match officiating, particularly in a competition of the stature and significance of the Fifa World Cup 2026."
The Independent has approached Fifa for comment.
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