Egypt superstar questions FIFA integrity with shocking 'rigged' allegations for Lionel Messi's Argentina

Egypt vs Argentina: Lionel Messi celebrates his team's second goal during Round of 16 FIFA World Cup 2026. (Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images) — Egypt vs Argentina was a remarkable but controversial match of football (Image credit: Getty Images)

Egypt superstar Mostafa Ziko has questioned FIFA's integrity after his nation endured a controversial 3-2 loss against Argentina.

The Pharaohs surged into a 2-0 lead, however, prior to their second goal, they had another ruled out by VAR intervention.

The move was stellar: a Haissem Hassan solo run, to a Mohamed Salah trivela, to a Mostafa Ziko finish, but the effort was ruled out after VAR deemed there to have been a foul in the build-up.

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Mostafa Ziko slams FIFA, makes 'rigged' allegation against Lionel Messi's Argentina

Enzo Fernandez of Argentina celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt. — Argentina were the beneficiaries of a plethora of controversial decisions (Image credit: Getty Images)

Lisandro Martinez was the aggrieved party, with the referee ruling him to have been fouled prior to Ziko's strike.

Later, that same trio of Egypt stars combined again, with Ziko also adding the finishing touch, taking a 2-0 lead.

Mohamed Salah shakes hands with Ramy Rabia after the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) round of 16 football match between Egypt and Benin. Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) — Egypt won the hearts of the footballing world this evening (Image credit: Getty Images)

The game's controversial refereeing was not limited to merely one event, with a range of talking points emerging post-match.

First was Egypt's disallowed goal, then two separate penalty claims in the build-up to Argentina's third and winning strike, and talks of a possible red card were brought up from the game's early stages.

Another incident was a foul awarded on Leandro Paredes, inflicted by Salah, which denied the Egyptian a clean sight on goal.

Ziko discussed the match's events with BBC shortly after the whistle, and claimed: "The referee was really not fair. Not fair. The injustice was clear.

"We did a good job in the early stages of the match. There's been an unfairness right from the start... a 2-0 lead isn't enough to beat Argentina."

Mo Salah in action for Egypt at the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations — Egypt legend Mohamed Salah was directly involved in three controversial incidents that went against his nation (Image credit: Getty Images)

"It's clear that this tournament has been fixed." Egypt's Mostafa Zico was not happy with some of the decisions in their game against Argentina. pic.twitter.com/VbDdFbkRBCJuly 7, 2026

Through tears, Ziko stated: "This tournament has been fixed. But God is sufficient for us.

"[God is] the best disposer of affairs. He's wasting the efforts of an entire nation. The cup is being given to Argentina," he concluded.

Argentina, who were taken to the wire by Egypt and Cape Verde, will face the winner of Colombia vs Switzerland in the tournament's quarter-finals.

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Kedar Bayley is a trained journalist specialising in culture reporting. As a fan of Liverpool FC, he writes on the Reds often. Knowledgable about all things sports, cinema and television, you can find his words in Screen International, FourFourTwo, Manchester Evening News and more.