Hassan accused referee Letexier of being biased towards Argentina.
| Photo Credit: AFP
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan emerged from one of the World Cup’s wildest games furious with the refereeing, convinced his side had been denied a famous result and openly suggesting that the defending champion had been carried by favourable treatment.
Egypt, he said, had gone toe-to-toe with the world champion despite being assembled from far humbler means.
“We were challenging the most expensive players, and we were better in everything than the defending champion,” Hassan said, before accusing Argentina of needing “pressure from one side on the referee” to secure the result.
Egypt had complained about the appointment of the referee beforehand, he revealed, and by full-time he was in no mood to hide his anger.
He insisted Egypt should have had a penalty and was equally adamant that what would have been Egypt’s second goal should not have been ruled out. “We deserved to earn this win, but we are leaving with pride because there was no fair play, no respect,” he said.
“There was no fair play in this match and I’m not happy with it. We have suffered injustice. FIFA raises the slogan ‘Fair Play’, but we don’t see it on the field… were it not for the errors, the result would have been different.”
The frustration was not reserved only for the officials. Hassan also tore into FIFA over the noon kick-off in Atlanta, arguing that the scheduling had disrespected the basic physical demands of the sport. “You don’t play at 12 at that time,” he said. “When will the players eat if they play at 12? Those who are doing this schedule don’t know football.”
Yet, amid the rage there was also a note of pride. Hassan said he had told his players he was grateful for their effort and that Egypt would “continue to mature and evolve”. He widened that pride beyond his own dressing room too, saying he was proud of “the Arab world” and of Africa.
The Egyptian coach confronted referee Francois Letexier after the game. “What I told the referee was ‘this is unfair. I said maybe he is carrying a scar or has something to hide. If somebody is trying to hide something, they often fail to hide it,” Hassan said about the incident.
“Anyway, when I am finished, I am not going to watch another game of this tournament”.
Published – July 08, 2026 06:25 pm IST
