‘They want Messi to stay for marketing purposes,’ says Egypt coach Hassan

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan made some outrageous statements after the match against Argentina, accusing the organizers of wanting Argentina and Messi to remain in the World Cup for marketing purposes.

Speaking at a press conference after the match, Hassan was furious about his team's defeat, which he claimed was deliberate.

Hassan told media. “They want Argentina and Messi to stay in the World Cup for marketing.

If they wanted Argentina to win, why invite other teams to participate?

“This match was clearly rigged, and the whole world witnessed it.

“We were better than Argentina, and football is unfair.

“We had a clear penalty that the referee didn't award, and Ziko's goal at the start of the second half was disallowed, even though it was perfectly legitimate.

“I will boycott watching the remaining matches of the tournament as a form of protest.

“I told the players that I thank them and that they can face the biggest teams in the world, provided there is fairness.

“FIFA promotes fair play, but we don't see it on the pitch.”

Egypt held a 2-0 lead until Argentina's Cristian Romero scored in the 79th minute. ‌Lionel Messi tied it four minutes later and Enzo Fernandez scored the game-winner two minutes into stoppage time.

However, Hassan took ​issue with referee ⁠Francois Letexier on several counts. Egypt had a goal that had initially put them up ‌2-0, but it was disallowed following a ‌VAR review. And the Pharaohs were upset that a hard tackle in the penalty box late in stoppage time was not reviewed.

"I'm not convinced with this outcome. I'm not convinced with the way things unfolded during this match," Hassan said. "I would do not want ‌to try to put it nicely here with beautiful wording, selective wording, and saying hard luck, and so on and so forth.

"We ⁠have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice."

Hassan said Egypt had objected to Letexier being the referee, referring to his "background." Letexier is from France.

Nine minutes into extra time, Hassan was issued a yellow card after objecting to the lack of a VAR review.

"I was just saying this is unfair. I was saying maybe he's carrying a scar," Hassan said of their interaction. "Maybe he has something to hide. Whoever has something to hide sometimes fails to hide what he is hiding."