Egypt coach Hossam Hassan looked into a camera after his team lost 3-2 to Argentina and said the match was “clearly rigged,” and my first instinct was to roll my eyes — and then I actually read what happened.
Egypt led 2-0 with eleven minutes left. They had a goal disallowed in the 58th minute, when VAR traced back a foul on Lisandro Martinez — deep in the buildup, on the far side of the pitch, while Argentina was still on the attack. Then Romero scored in the 79th, Messi equalized in the 83rd, and Enzo Fernandez hit the winner in stoppage time. Also: Egypt’s Hamdy Fathy got his shirt visibly yanked in the buildup to that Fernandez goal. VAR never looked at it.
So yeah. Hear the man out.
Hassan went full scorched earth at the presser. “I will say what’s on my mind regardless of the consequence,” he said. “This was clearly a rigged match, and the whole world saw it.” He also said — and this is the part that actually stings — “if they want Argentina to win so bad, why call everyone to come and participate?” Former FIFA referee Mark Clattenburg backed him up, at least on the VAR call itself, saying it was inconsistent with how the tournament had been officiated.
Nobody is going to do anything about this.
That’s the part that makes the whole thing exhausting rather than outrageous. Hassan is right that the Zico goal disallowance was a reach. He’s right that the shirt pull on Fathy deserved a second look. He’s right that a black box with no appeals process and no public accountability is a terrible thing to hand the keys of a World Cup to. Former referees will cluck. Soccer Twitter will have a full meltdown. And by Thursday, everyone will have moved on because the machine said what it said and there is no higher court.
https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/2074545879860842568
Here’s the honest counterargument: Argentina scored three times in eleven minutes. Messi missed a penalty earlier and still willed his team back. Maybe the better team won and Egypt’s coach is just a sore loser processing a devastating collapse. That’s a real possibility. Lots of coaches say “rigged” when they mean “we blew a two-goal lead.”
But the counterargument doesn’t actually address the VAR call. It just changes the subject.
FIFA built a system where the machine’s verdict is final, the reasoning is opaque, and the only person who gets punished for complaining is the person complaining. Hassan is almost certainly going to get fined. Argentina is still playing in their World Cup. And if you’re looking for more World Cup coverage that engages with why any of this matters, the line forms to the left.
He’ll be forgotten by the quarterfinals. The call will not.
