Hossam Hassan says he’s done watching this World Cup. “I told the referee that what was happening wasn’t fair,” the Egypt coach said after his team’s 3-2 collapse against Argentina. “It’s an undeserved victory for Argentina… I’ll never watch the World Cup again, because there’s no justice in this competition.”
Egypt had led 2-0 with 11 minutes left before Argentina scored three times to complete one of the tournament’s most dramatic comebacks. Hassan’s grievances ran wider than the scoreline: earlier in the match, with Egypt already 2-0 up, a goal was disallowed on VAR review that would have made it 3-0; late on, he felt a foul in the box went unreviewed. He had also objected to the referee’s identity before a ball was kicked, telling Francois Letexier that his background was the issue, and later that the Frenchman seemed to be “carrying a scar,” that he had “something to hide.” He was booked for it.