Egypt’s World Cup Coach Was So Upset About A Foul He Hugged The Referee To Demonstrate
Many have pointed out how the move was “a clear foul.”
Egypt’s head coach Hossam Hassan “hugged” a referee during a World Cup match to demonstrate an alleged foul the referees ignored.
During the last minutes of Egypt’s match against Belgium at Seattle Stadium, Egyptian player Zizo was charging towards the goal when Belgian defender Maxim De Cuyper wrapped his arms around him in the penalty box, the box in front of the goal where a foul by the defending team results in a penalty kick, causing Zizo to fall to the ground.
Brazilian referee Ramon Abatti did not blow his whistle and signaled to continue and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) also did not intervene.
A penalty kick could have led Egypt, which has never won a single match since their debut in the tournament at the 1934 World Cup, to win the game.
The game ended in a 1-1 draw.
After the final whistle, Hassan, who appeared furious, approached one of the referees, the fourth official, Kevin Ortega from Peru, and demonstrated the wrap-around move to the referee as done by De Cuyper to Zizo.
Egypt's captain and former Liverpool player Mohamed Salah stepped in and pulled Hassan away from the official to prevent him from being suspended.
The moment has since gone viral, with people making memes, while others accused officials of corruption and "rigging" matches to favor major European teams.
Many have pointed out how the move was “a clear foul.”
Hassan later said the penalty was “a million percent correct” and said the decision would have been given if the foul were committed against Egypt instead of for Belgium.
Egypt's next game in the tournament is against New Zealand on June 21, 2026.
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