World Cup Scandal: Egyptian Coach and Zico Speak Out

Following the 3-2 loss to Argentina in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, Egyptian national team coach Housam Hassan strongly criticized the refereeing of French referee Francois Letexier. Zico, who had a goal disallowed after a VAR review, was left in tears, stating 'It's clear that this tournament is rigged.' Hassan stated in the press conference, 'I will never watch the World Cup again because there is no justice in this tournament. We didn't see any respect or fair play. A penalty was disallowed, and a second situation that should have been reviewed by VAR was not even checked. A second goal was invalid for some reason, which is noteworthy.' Hassan claimed that the referee was under pressure, saying 'Life is unfair. The world is unfair. Okay, but why is there no justice in sports? I'm not convinced by this result and the way things went in this match. Maybe they wanted to keep the world champion in the tournament. Maybe they wanted Messi to stay in the competition. Sometimes, external factors beyond technical aspects come into play in football. World champions have benefited from support at every level.' Zico, who scored Egypt's second goal, expressed his sadness, saying 'It wasn't fair from the referee's perspective. It really wasn't fair, and that's clear. His decisions wasted all our efforts.'