‘Wanted Lionel Messi to stay in the running’ - Egypt bemoan ‘injustice’ after agonising World Cup defeat to Argentina that delivered more VAR controversy

In the aftermath of a pulsating encounter, Hassan did not hold back in his assessment of the officiating, suggesting that external forces were at play to ensure the tournament's biggest star remained in the competition. "We looked better than the reigning champions - better in everything - but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it," Hassan told reporters. "Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running."

The Egypt boss continued his scathing critique by hinting at a lack of fair play at the highest level of the game. "In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champion received support at every level," he added. "There seem to be pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome. We were objecting to the selection of the referee because of the French situation [Argentina beat France in the 2022 World Cup final], but everybody has to suffer at some point and we suffered."

Egypt's fury centred on two specific incidents: a disallowed goal that would have further cushioned their lead, and an alleged foul by Alexis Mac Allister in the build-up to Enzo Fernandez's stoppage-time winner. Hassan was adamant that his team was denied a clear penalty for a foul on Mohamed Salah that went unchecked. "We haven't seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out, it was not even checked by the VAR and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed," the coach lamented.

Regarding the winning goal, Hassan pointed to a blatant shirt-pull that the officials chose to ignore, leading to a breakdown in his faith in sporting integrity. "We have all seen the shirt pulled back [by Mac Allister] and not even a VAR check. Life is unfair, normal life is unfair, so why is there no fairness in sports? I'm not convinced by this outcome and the way things unfolded in this match. I want to put it in beautiful words and say hard luck, but we have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice."

The sentiment from the dugout was echoed by the players on the pitch, who felt the momentum of the game was shifted by factors outside their control. Forward Mostafa Zico, who scored Egypt's second goal, expressed his disbelief at how the match turned after they took a 2-0 lead. "The match was in our hands and slipped away at the last moment. Strange things happened on the pitch. We were hard done by [the referee] today, and everyone saw that. After the 2-0 result, everything went against us and worked against us."

Goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, who displayed heroics earlier in the match when he saved a Messi spot-kick, admitted to late mistakes but remained proud of the effort.

Meanwhile, reserve keeper Mohamed Alaa was more direct: "The refereeing was obvious in front of everyone. I won't talk about it, the refereeing was clear. We had a goal disallowed, and we had a penalty. The penalty was turned against us into a counterattack goal."

Despite the heartbreak and the chaotic scenes at the final whistle-which included a verbal confrontation between Hassan and referee Francois Letexier - talismanic captain Mohamed Salah attempted to lead with composure in the dressing room. Alaa revealed that Salah gathered the squad to provide a sense of perspective following the painful exit from the tournament.

"Captain Salah entered the locker room, gathered all the players, and spoke with them," Alaa said. "He said, 'Hard luck, it's over. It's God's decree and what He willed happened regarding what took place. Let's build on this, and what's coming will be good, God willing.'" While Salah looks toward the future, Hassan’s parting shot was one of total disillusionment: "When I am finished, I am not going to watch another game of this tournament."