FIFA's Disciplinary Committee has suspended three members of Egypt's World Cup set-up over comments made after the round-of-16 defeat to Argentina. FIFA confirmed that head coach Hossam Hassan received a three-match suspension and a $20,000 fine. His twin brother Ibrahim Hassan, who works as the national team's manager, received the same three-match ban and fine for breaching Article 13 of the disciplinary code. Forward Mostafa Ziko was given five matches and a $20,000 fine for breaching Articles 13 and 14. The Egyptian Football Association announced the decisions on Monday, 19 October. The match was played on 7 July in Atlanta, although Al Jazeera dates it to 6 July.
Egypt led 2-0 before losing 3-2 to Argentina. A Ziko goal had been ruled out earlier, when Egypt led 1-0, after the video assistant referee spotted a foul on Lisandro Martinez in the build-up. Ziko then doubled the lead. Cristian Romero reduced the arrears, Lionel Messi equalised with his eighth goal of the tournament, and Enzo Fernandez scored the winner. Egypt also believe they should have been awarded a penalty for a pull by Alexis Mac Allister in the build-up to the winner, and a member of their coaching staff was shown a red card after that goal.
Hossam Hassan said Egypt had been cheated out of a quarter-final place and blamed pressure on the referee for the result. He told the post-match news conference that the Argentine side had put pressure on the referee:
“There seems to have been pressure on the Argentine side on the referee that has brought about this outcome.”
Ziko went further, accusing Letexier of rigging the fixture and saying the official had wasted the team's efforts with his decisions. He also claimed FIFA wanted Messi to stay in the competition and described the game as 'arranged'.
“We wanted to make you all happy. It was not in the cards. It was the referee.”
Pierluigi Collina, FIFA's chief refereeing officer, condemned the allegations in a statement issued on 9 July. He warned that such comments may provoke reactions that lead to threats against match officials and their families:
“Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials.”
The Egyptian Football Association has asked the Disciplinary Committee for the detailed reasons and justifications for the decisions. It said it would assess the legal aspects of the punishment and is planning to appeal.
The suspensions could keep both Hassans out of Egypt's Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Malawi in November, as well as the first match of the March international window. AD reports that the coach would miss both the away and home games against Malawi and the match against Angola. Ziko will not be available again until June 2027.
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FIFA has suspended Egypt coach Hossam Hassan and his twin Ibrahim for three matches each, and forward Mostafa Ziko for five. The penalties follow criticism of referee François Letexier after the 3-2 World Cup loss to Argentina.
AI text based on reports by SAPO, The New York Times, SRF News and other publishers. Published .