Mourinho Calls Egypt's World Cup Defeat to Argentina 'Daylight Robbery'

Egypt's historic FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign came to a heartbreaking end after a controversial 3-2 defeat to defending champions Argentina in the Round of 16, with widespread criticism directed at the officiating rather than the result itself.

The Pharaohs looked on course for one of the tournament's biggest upsets after Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico fired them into a commanding two-goal lead. 

Argentina, however, mounted a dramatic comeback through Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez to snatch victory in the closing stages.

The match quickly became overshadowed by a series of contentious refereeing decisions. Zico had what would have been Egypt's third goal ruled out following a lengthy VAR review for a marginal foul in the build-up, while two penalty appeals in Argentina's box involving Egyptian players were not reviewed.

Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan strongly criticized the officiating after the final whistle, insisting his team had been unfairly treated.

"We were the better team and imposed our style on the match. It wasn't fair. I don't know why our goal was disallowed," Hassan said.

He went further by suggesting that commercial interests influenced the tournament.

"The World Cup is all about marketing. They wanted Messi to remain in the tournament for as long as possible," he added.

An emotional Mostafa Zico also blamed the referee for Egypt's elimination, describing the decisions as unfair and insisting they changed the course of the match. 

🚨 José Mourinho on Argentina vs. Egypt:

“This is daylight robbery. It’s a shame what football is becoming. How do you let the play continue, allow the goal to be scored, and only then decide to go back and cancel it? If there was a foul, stop the game immediately. Don’t wait… pic.twitter.com/bZui8LhsHO

— Darren (@MUFCDarren_) July 7, 2026

The controversial decisions sparked widespread reaction across the football world. Former England captain Alan Shearer questioned the consistency of the officiating, arguing that similar incidents had been judged differently throughout the match.

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho described the performance of the officials as "daylight robbery," claiming Egypt had been forced to compete not only against Argentina but also against the referee, VAR and what he called "the script of the tournament."

Former World Cup VAR official Fernando Guerrero offered one of the strongest technical criticisms of the decisions. He argued that there had been no foul in the build-up to Egypt's disallowed goal and said the VAR intervention itself violated the Attacking Possession Phase protocol because Argentina had multiple opportunities to regain possession before the goal was scored.

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright also said Egypt had every reason to feel aggrieved, while chess grandmaster and political commentator Garry Kasparov accused FIFA of favoring football's biggest stars after highlighting what he considered inconsistent VAR decisions.

International media outlets echoed the criticism. Spanish newspaper Marca questioned why VAR intervened to disallow Egypt's goal while ignoring a similar incident inside Argentina's penalty area moments before the winning goal. British newspaper The Guardian also highlighted the inconsistency in the officiating, noting that the contrasting decisions had left players, analysts and supporters puzzled.

Although Egypt's remarkable World Cup run ended in disappointment, the team's courageous performance earned widespread praise. 

However, the controversy surrounding the officiating is expected to remain one of the tournament's biggest talking points, with growing calls for greater consistency and accountability in the use of VAR during major international competitions.