Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan says the World Cup is “directed towards Argentina” after he was left angered by several refereeing decisions during Tuesday’s round-of-16 tie between the two sides.Argentina came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in a turbulent clash in Atlanta, setting up a quarter-final with Colombia or Switzerland next Saturday.But Hassan was deeply unhappy about the way the game unfolded, claiming Egypt were wrongly denied a second goal at 1-0, following a VAR check, and that his team should have been awarded a penalty in stoppage time moments before Enzo Fernandez scored Argentina’s third.In his post-match news conference, Hassan pointed the finger at referee Francois Letexier and the Argentina players, saying, “We haven’t seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out and a second (incident) that should have been checked for a penalty for us was not even checked by the VAR. A second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed.“There seems to have been pressure on the Argentinian side on the referee that has brought about this outcome.“Life is unfair. The world is unfair. OK, but why isn’t there any fairness in sports? I’m not convinced by this outcome and by the way things unfolded in this match.“The referee is unfair, God is sufficient for me and the best disposer of affairs. He’s wasting the effort of an entire nation. The cup is directed towards Argentina.”Hassan also criticised the scheduling of the game, saying, “Whoever schedules these matches is someone who has never played football. You never schedule a football match at 12 noon.”Speaking to Canadian broadcaster TSN immediately after the game, Egypt goalscorer Mostafa Ziko said, via a translator: “It was not fair from the referee. It was really not fair, that was very clear. He wasted all of our efforts with his decisons. We were leading 2-0 and we cannot do anything, it’s all up to God.“We are so sorry (to the people of Egypt). I am so sorry. We wanted to make you all happy. It was not in the cards. It was the referee. Congratulations to Argentina on the second Cup.”FIFA has been approached for comment.Can Egypt feel aggrieved?Analysis by refereeing expert and former Premier League official Graham ScottAttia’s challenge on Lisandro Martinez in the build-up to Ziko’s 67th-minute effort was normal contact. It was also almost 100 yards from goal, and Argentina had every opportunity to regroup and defend — no wonder Egypt felt aggrieved that the eventual goal was disallowed after a VAR review.There was some contact in the left corner of the pitch far from Argentina’s net (image one below), both foot on foot and a fleeting hold of the shirt (image two), but there was no offence committed here. It was an astonishing intervention and a massive overreach of the VAR’s role to correct only clear and obvious errors.The VAR routinely checks the attacking phase of play before every goal, and here would have gone back to the turnover of possession.For a goal to be chalked off, there needs to be a clear foul. As a general rule of thumb, the longer the time and distance between a challenge and a goal, the more serious the alleged offence needs to be.But there was no offence to speak of here, and nothing anywhere near the threshold for VAR to get involved.By the same logic, Egypt’s penalty claim for an alleged foul on Mo Salah shortly before Argentina’s winning goal is without foundation. There is some minor contact, but not enough to send Salah over.Just as Egypt’s goal should not have been ruled out, nor should this one.Jul 7, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms