Hossam Hassan rages at officiating after Egypt 3-2 Argentina loss, asks if Messi was kept in | OneFootball

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan condemned the officiating after a 3-2 last-16 defeat by Argentina, his team having been 2-0 up with 15 minutes left.

A second-half finish by Mostafa Ziko was disallowed after a VAR review for a foul at the start of the move. Hassan also argued Hamdy Fathy was fouled when Egypt were close to 3-1.

"We were the better team. What happened was neither right nor fair," said Hassan. "One of our goals was cancelled and we do not know why." He was speaking to beIN Sports.

"Maybe they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition, maybe they wanted Messi to stay in," he said. "In football there are sometimes external factors beyond the technical side. The world champions received support at every level."

"I told the referee that what was happening was not just. It is an undeserved win for Argentina," Hassan added. "Once I am back in my country and at home, I will never watch the World Cup again."

"We played a huge match against the world champions," said Ziko. "I do not know what happened in the second half, there were strange things that everyone saw, as clear as daylight."

"The small details make the difference in big matches," said goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir. "We are very sad because the game had been in our hands."

Source: Le Progres