Egypt’s Hassan and Zico suspended over FIFA World Cup refereeing criticism

Egypt’s head coach Hossam Hassan and forward Mostafa Zico have paid the price for criticising the referee after their World Cup knockout loss to Argentina, with FIFA suspending the duo for three and five matches, respectively.

FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee handed down the sanctions, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said in a statement on Monday.

Hossam’s twin brother, Ibrahim, who is the national team’s manager, was also given a three-match suspension.

The EFA said it had submitted a request to the committee, seeking “the detailed reasons and justifications for the decisions”. The national football body is planning to appeal after assessing the legal aspects of the punishment.

The suspensions could rule Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan out of Egypt’s upcoming matches against Malawi in the next rounds of Africa Cup of Nations qualifying in November, as well as the first match of the March international window.

Zico will be unavailable until June.

Egypt were knocked out in the round of 16 by Argentina, who came from 2-0 down to win the tense encounter in Atlanta, United States, on July 6.

The Pharaohs were left furious after a number of controversial calls went against them, including a disallowed goal early in the second half, and a member of their coaching staff was red-carded in the aftermath of the winning goal.

Hassan claimed his side was “cheated” out of a place in the quarterfinals after Argentina’s stunning late comeback.

“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 in an explosive post-match news conference.

Egypt had a Zico goal ruled out when they were leading 1-0 as the video assistant referee (VAR) intervened to spot a foul on Lisandro Martinez much earlier in the move.

Zico then put Egypt on the brink of a place in the last eight for the first time by doubling their lead.

However, the defending champions hit back as Cristian Romero reduced the arrears before Lionel Messi, who had a first-half penalty saved, smashed in the equaliser with his eighth goal of the tournament.

The controversy did not end there, though, as in the build-up to Argentina’s winner scored by Enzo Fernandez, Egypt believe they should have instead been awarded a penalty for a pull by Alexis Mac Allister on Hamdy Fathy.

“We haven’t seen respect or fair play. There has not been respect or fair play,” Hassan said.

“A penalty was ruled out; it was not even checked by VAR. A second goal was remarkably disallowed. There has not even been a VAR check when we have all seen the image of the [shirt] being pulled back.”

Zico had a goal ruled out for a foul in the build-up, before Egypt’s players appealed for a penalty near the end when the score was 2-2.

However, FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina defended the officiating in the match, saying such allegations could provoke threats against referees and their families.