Egypt manager Hossam Hassan was unhappy following his side’s defeat to Argentina in the World Cup, while forward Mostafa Ziko has alleged that his country’s match was rigged. The reigning world champions appeared to be on the brink of elimination, finding themselves 2-0 down in Atlanta.
However, Argentina netted three goals without reply in the closing stages to keep their hopes of consecutive World Cup victories very much alive. The match was mired in controversy throughout. Egypt had a goal disallowed by VAR following a foul earlier in the move, while they were equally furious at the failure to award a penalty just moments before Argentina’s decisive winner. Ziko, who got his name on the scoresheet for his side’s second goal, was scathing in his assessment of the officials, insisting both the match and the tournament are being manipulated in Argentina’s favour.
He said: “The referee wasn’t good, he was unfair. His injustice was clear. He persecuted us from the start of the match. He doesn’t want us to win.
“It was a rigged game. It wasn’t our fault. That referee… it seems like this match was rigged. We were winning 2-0, and he kept coming at us. Congratulations to Argentina on another World Cup, it seems.”
He added: “At no point did we think the match was already decided. We knew we were facing the reigning world champions.
“Even before the game started, we knew we would be facing a very strong team and one of the favourites for the title. But if they had won solely on their own merits it would have been very different for us.”
Ziko was not the only one left seething at the referees’ performance. Egypt manager Hassan also launched a scathing verdict following the final whistle.
He said: “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.
“The referee is unfair, God is sufficient for me and the best disposer of affairs. He’s wasting the effort of an entire nation. The cup is directed towards Argentina.”