By Shaffie A Mtambo
ATLANTA-(MaraviPost)- Egypt coach Hossam Hassan has accused match officials of unfairly influencing his side’s dramatic 3-2 defeat to Argentina, claiming the World Cup clash was “rigged” after his team surrendered a two goal lead.
Hassan made the explosive remarks after Egypt lost 3-2 despite leading 2-0 until the 79th minute, with Argentina scoring three late goals to book their place in the next stage of the tournament.
Speaking after the match, the Egypt coach said he was ready to face any consequences for speaking out.
“I will say what is in my heart regardless of the consequences. This was a very rigged football match and the whole world saw it,” Hassan said.
He questioned why other nations were invited to compete if the intention was for Argentina to lift the trophy.
“If they really wanted Argentina to win, why did they invite other teams to take part?” he added.
Egypt forward Mostafa Zico also launched a strong attack on the referee, accusing the official of showing clear bias throughout the match.
“The referee wasn’t just bad, he was unfair. His bias was obvious. He had it in for us from the start of the game. He doesn’t want us to win. It was a rigged game,” Zico said.
The striker ended his comments with a sarcastic congratulatory message, saying. “Congratulations to Argentina on yet another World Cup title, it seems.”
Neither FIFA nor the match officials had responded publicly to the allegations at the time of publication. Argentina have also not commented on the accusations.
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