Country in the World Cup might face a ban as FIFA starts disciplinary action over comments about Argentina
FIFA might take action against one of the 2026 World Cup countries because of comments made about Argentina during the tournament.
Argentina came very close to winning back-to-back World Cups after reaching the final, but their hopes were dashed when Ferran Torres scored in extra time, especially after Enzo Fernandez was sent off. Spain deserved their win that day in New Jersey and probably throughout the tournament, while Argentina was involved in some controversial moments.
This summer, several unproven conspiracy theories about Argentina spread on social media. People accused FIFA and the referees of favoring Argentina, starting early in the tournament when Lionel Messi avoided a red card for a rough challenge in their first group game against Algeria.
That Messi incident was just one of many that fueled conspiracy theories, especially during Argentina’s exciting 3-2 win over Egypt in the Round of 16—the most talked-about game for refereeing calls.
Egypt nearly pulled off a huge upset with goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Ziko, taking a two-goal lead. But Argentina made a dramatic comeback in the last 15 minutes with goals from Cristian Romero, Messi, and Fernandez, narrowly squeezing through.
Egypt was unhappy with how they lost. They believed there was a foul before Messi’s equalizer, especially after one of their own goals was ruled out for a foul earlier.
After the match, Egypt’s coach Hossam Hassan made an X gesture at the referee, which went viral. He later said it was a protest against poor refereeing. Hassan said, “We played better against Argentina, but football isn’t fair. What happened was unjust, even though FIFA talks about ‘fair play.’”
Ziko also stood out after the game, saying the tournament was “rigged” in Argentina’s favor—but still congratulating them. He said, “Congratulations to Argentina on the World Cup. The tournament is rigged. The referee was unfair from the start and wasted our nation’s efforts. Were they going to let us beat Argentina 2-0? The tournament is rigged, but congratulations to Argentina.”
About six weeks later, the Egyptian Football Association responded and confirmed FIFA has started disciplinary proceedings against Hassan, his brother Ibrahim (the team manager), and Ziko.
On August 20, the Egyptian FA said: “We are following the disciplinary actions FIFA has taken against Hossam Hassan, Ibrahim Hassan, and Mustafa Ziko after their statements following the Egypt vs. Argentina match at the 2026 World Cup. We respect FIFA’s rules and will send in our responses by the deadlines. We support those involved and will defend Egyptian football through the right official channels.”
FIFA rules say they can punish national teams, players, or associations for political statements, banners, or offensive comments. This usually means fines, warnings, or investigations. Now Egypt is waiting to see what the punishment will be.