Egypt manager Hossam Hassan has made the bombshell claim that they were unfairly treated in their last-16 tie against Argentina due to commercial reasons.
The reigning world champions progressed to the quarter-finals in dramatic fashion, with the North African side leading 2-0 until the 79th minute of the clash in Atlanta.
Cristian Romero then pulled a goal back, before Lionel Messi equalised in the 83rd minute and Enzo Fernandez struck a winner in added time.
However, Egypt were left furious after they had a goal ruled out when the score was 1-0 after VAR adjudged Marwan Attia to have fouled Lisandro Martinez at the start of the move.
They were also insistent that Mo Salah was fouled in Argentina’s penalty box in the build-up to the winning goal.
And, following the game, Hassan fumed that outside factors had played a role in their defeat before he hit out at referee Francois Letexier.
Egypt boss Hossam Hassan claimed they were unfairly treated against Argentina due to commercial reasons
Messi is one of the most marketable stars at the World Cup and has commercial deals with multiple brands, including Lays
Lego are another company that have snapped up the legendary World Cup winner
‘We were better against Argentina, but football isn’t fair, and what happened was unfair, despite FIFA upholding the motto of “fair play”,’ Hassan said.
‘The referee disallowed one of our goals and we don’t know why. The result could have been 3-1, but Argentina then managed to equalise.’
Hassan later added: ‘I don’t like losing at all, but this was an unfair defeat. In football, there are other off-field factors that have nothing to do with technical aspects.
‘It’s possible that marketing issues are the cause; they don’t want Messi to be eliminated, they want the world champion to continue in the competition.
‘The world champion received support at every level. There seem to be pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome.’
Hossam’s bombshell claims have not received a response at the time of writing, although Messi is one of the most marketable stars at the World Cup.
Given his superstar status, the Argentine has commercial deals with multiple brands including Adidas, Lays, Lego and Mastercard, and he is said to earn around $70million (£52.4m) annually from sponsorship.
Mastercard is another company linked with Messi and he earns huge sums from sponsorship
Hassan posted a photo of referee Francois Letexier on Instagram after slamming his display
Hassan’s anger didn’t stop there however, with the Egypt boss later posting a photo of referee Letexier on his Instagram page.
He added the caption: ‘The world is watching.’
Letexier also deleted his own Instagram account amid the backlash he received following the game.
Messi has now scored eight goals at this World Cup to put him top of the Golden Boot race, one clear of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
Argentina will take on Switzerland in their quarter-final clash on Sunday morning at 2am (GMT) in Kansas City.
