Egypt coach seethes at 'unfair' treatment from match officials

For Mohamed Salah and Egypt, what could have been a glorious celebration turned ugly at the end.

On the cusp of upsetting the defending World Cup champion, the Pharaohs squandered a two-goal lead late in the game and fell 3-2 to Lionel Messi and Argentina in the round of 16 on Tuesday.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan held up both arms in an "X" shape — the signal in soccer for calling out racial abuse — and stated flatly that his upstart squad was victimized by a soccer establishment that wanted Messi and Argentina to advance to the quarterfinals in their pursuit of a second straight title.

"We have been treated unfairly today," Hassan said. "We have suffered injustice."

In a tournament already marred by reports that US President Donald Trump influenced FIFA to overturn the one-game suspension for US striker Folarin Balogun, Egypt turned up the heat on soccer's governing body.

"I just would like to say that we would have deserved a win," Hassan said, "but we are leaving with honor, with pride, regardless of this defeat."

Hassan, who has been outspoken during the tournament, particularly in his support of the Palestinians and against the treatment of the Iranian team, was upset that a potential second goal was overturned by VAR for a foul by Egypt at the start of a sweeping, box-to-box play.

Egypt took a 2-0 lead anyway on Mostafa Zico's goal in the 67th minute, but there was still enough time for Argentina to pull off a comeback for the ages at the home of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons.

Even retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady took to social media to point out the similarities to the comeback he pulled off against the Falcons in the 2017 Super Bowl, when the New England Patriots rallied from a 28-3 deficit late in the third quarter to win 34-28 in overtime. "Yeah, so that might top 28-3," Brady wrote on X.

Hassan, however, couldn't care less what Brady had to say. The coach was still seething that the VAR didn't feel a need to intervene and ask referee Francois Letexier to review what Egypt saw as a foul on Salah in the area, denying what could've been a penalty kick in the waning minutes, instead sparking the play that led to Argentina's winner.

"The effect of this outcome goes way beyond the defeat itself, because we haven't seen neither respect nor fair play," Hassan said. "Because a penalty was ruled out. A second ball that should have been called as a penalty for us was not even checked by the VAR.

"What I told the referee was just that this is unfair," the coach said. "I was saying maybe he's carrying a scar, maybe he has something to hide.

"Whoever has something to hide sometimes fails to hide what he is hiding and this was exactly what I felt during that conversation."

AP