Was the winning goal illegal?

Egypt Coach Suspects Cheating Involving Lionel Messi

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07.07.2026 22:55

Massive frustration in Egypt following the dramatic World Cup elimination against Argentina. Head coach Hossam Hassan even suspects foul play involving Lionel Messi.

“The defending champions were given preferential treatment at every level,” Hossam Hassan railed. “I told the referee that this just wasn’t fair. We were treated unfairly.” Argentina didn’t deserve this victory, he said, and once he’s back in Egypt, he won’t watch a single minute of the World Cup anymore because there’s simply no fairness in this tournament.

(Bild: AFP/BUDA MENDES)

“Did they just want to keep the defending champions in the tournament? Or did they want to keep seeing Messi play?” he wondered. “It seemed as though the Argentine side had put pressure on the referee,” Hassan explained, referring to French referee François Letexier. At the same time, he emphasized that they had “rejected” him beforehand.

(Bild: AP/Erik S. Lesser)

Goal scorer Mostafa Zico was similarly stunned. “We played an incredible match,” he emphasized. “But in the second half, strange things happened that everyone saw. That’s crystal clear.”

Here’s the scene on video:


Controversial moment before the 3–2

What does he mean by that? Immediately before the 3–2 goal in the 92nd minute by Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister had pulled Egyptian player Hamdi Fathi’s jersey inside the penalty area, but no penalty kick was awarded. Furthermore, he claimed that several other incidents weren’t reviewed by VAR at all, and all the close calls went in favor of the world champions. 

This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.

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