FIFA have suspended Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan for three matches, his twin brother Ibrahim Hassan for three matches and forward Mostafa Zico for five matches following their criticism of the referee after the Pharaohs’ 2026 World Cup round-of-16 defeat by Argentina.
The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced the sanctions on Monday, adding that it had requested detailed explanations from FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee before deciding on its next steps.
The EFA said it was considering an appeal after reviewing the legal grounds for the decisions.
The suspensions could force Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan to miss Egypt’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying matches against Malawi in November, as well as their opening fixture during the March international window. Zico is expected to remain unavailable until June.
Egypt suffered a painful exit from the World Cup on 6 July after Argentina overturned a two-goal deficit to claim a dramatic victory in Atlanta, United States.
The Pharaohs were angered by several refereeing decisions during the encounter, including a disallowed goal by Zico and a late penalty appeal that was rejected.
Hossam accused the officials of denying his side a place in the quarter-finals, insisting that Egypt had been treated unfairly.
“I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck. We have been cheated unfairly today; we have suffered injustice,” Hassan said at his post-match news conference.
Zico had a goal ruled out after the video assistant referee identified an earlier foul on Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez in the build-up.
Egypt appeared to be heading towards a historic quarter-final place after doubling their lead, but Argentina fought back through Cristian Romero and Lionel Messi before Enzo Fernandez scored the winner.
The controversy continued when Egypt appealed for a penalty over an alleged shirt pull by Alexis Mac Allister on Hamdy Fathy during the build-up to Argentina’s decisive goal.
“We haven’t seen respect or fair play. There has not been respect or fair play,” Hassan said.
He also questioned the failure to review the penalty appeal, saying the disallowed goal and the alleged shirt pull should have received further scrutiny.
FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina defended the officiating, warning that allegations against match officials could expose referees and their families to threats.
Join the conversation
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.