{"id":318337,"date":"2026-07-20T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T11:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=318337"},"modified":"2026-07-14T12:56:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:56:03","slug":"after-controversial-egypt-match-many-fans-from-the-global-south-are-done-with-the-soccer-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2026\/07\/after-controversial-egypt-match-many-fans-from-the-global-south-are-done-with-the-soccer-world-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"After Controversial Egypt Match, Many Fans from the Global South Are Done with the Soccer World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Was Egypt Goal Wrongly Disallowed? | Was that really a foul?: Experts slam VAR call that denied Egypt against Argentina | Argentina vs Egypt VAR Controversy | The Daily Star<\/p><\/div>\n

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Feelings of injustice around the international tournament are a symptom of geopolitics in 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

14 Jul 2026\u00a0<\/em>– It\u2019s hard to say for sure because of the wizardry involved. But Egyptian forward Haissem Hassan took what looked like eight touches <\/a>of the ball on every part of his left foot imaginable, dancing in between and around two Argentine defenders, before ever putting it on his right. One touch on that right foot, followed by a final move from his left, and the Egyptian forward had done most of the legwork for what will go down as one of the most memorable moments of the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n

The crowd where I was, outside a jam-packed cafe in New York\u2019s Little Egypt, was by this point in the midst of a crescendo that peaked a few seconds later: three dribbles and a pass from Egyptian icon Mohamed Salah, followed by a glorious goal by Mostafa Zico.<\/p>\n

Utter joy broke out<\/a> in the cafe. Egypt was beating Lionel Messi\u2019s Argentina 2-0, and everyone at the cafe knew we would remember where we were when we saw Zico\u2019s shot hit the back of the net.<\/p>\n

And we still will \u2014 but not for the reasons we thought. A video review ruled out the goal because of a foul committed in its buildup. And though Zico did later score a goal that wasn\u2019t disallowed, Argentina quickly scored three and won the match.<\/p>\n

In the space of about half an hour, the cafe went from feeling like a party to a funeral. A dramatic loss in the dying minutes of a game would be devastating for any fan base. But when it happens in the context of dubious refereeing decisions, in a tournament run by a famously corrupt organization, the despair can take on an extra edge.<\/p>\n

Allegations of Rigging<\/h2>\n

The words \u201crigged\u201d and \u201ccorruption\u201d filled Little Egypt\u2019s Steinway Street after the match and were all over social media feeds as well. \u201cIt needs to be a fair game, and today I don\u2019t think it was a fair game. It\u2019s really a shame on FIFA \u2026 something doesn\u2019t feel right,\u201d said Mohamed Bakar, who drove from Pennsylvania to New York just to watch the game among Egypt\u2019s fans on Steinway.<\/p>\n

Members of the Egyptian team did not hold back either.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe referee was not fair. The injustice was clear. There\u2019s been an unfairness right from the start of the match. A 2-0 lead is not enough to beat Argentina. It\u2019s clear that the tournament has been fixed,\u201d said an emotional Zico in a post-match interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Coach Hossam Hassan felt similarly. \u201cThe result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cPerhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.\u201d<\/p>\n

To be clear, there is no evidence that definitively supports those claims. But the people making the allegations point to a pattern of decisions that seem to have favored the defending champions, and in the case of this match, come at Egypt\u2019s expense. The focal point of the controversy was the foul committed ahead of Zico\u2019s goal that happened about 20 seconds earlier, and roughly 100 yards away \u2014 factors that usually mean they are no longer relevant. And many point out that when similar incidents seemed to occur before Argentina\u2019s goals \u2014 both during the Egypt match<\/a>, and earlier in the tournament<\/a> \u2014 the same decision was not made.<\/p>\n

As Stefan Szymanski, my co-host on \u201cThe Soccernomics Podcast\u201d said in our most recent episode<\/a>, there is a bias that exists because of the fact that Messi is the best player in the world, and perhaps in the history of the sport. \u201cIt will always be the case that the best players will get asymmetric treatment,\u201d Szymanski said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to get better treated than the rest because they\u2019re the moneymakers\u2026. Even just the selection of the referee is something that a player like Messi can influence, and this is kind of well-known as a fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bias Szymanski is talking about isn\u2019t necessarily conscious. One cannot just look at these incidents and definitively conclude the World Cup is rigged, and yet so many people do. What\u2019s interesting is to consider why.<\/p>\n

FIFA\u2019s Shady Past Makes People Believe the Worst<\/h2>\n

In a series for Zeteo<\/em> called \u201cThe Dark Side of the World Cup<\/a>,\u201d my colleagues and I detail FIFA\u2019s history of corruption<\/a>, criminality<\/a>, and corporate greed<\/a>. The organization has repeatedly gotten into bed with authoritarian leaders<\/a> while prioritizing commercial aspirations over human rights. The most high-profile example was the U.S. Department of Justice\u2013led investigation about a decade ago that resulted in nine FIFA executives being indicted for racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracies \u2014 and the eventual resignation of former FIFA President Sepp Blatter. Fans of the sport know this, and are constantly in a struggle with the Zurich-based behemoth over who really owns the game.<\/p>\n

The result? A breeding ground for conspiracy based on the belief, held widely among fans of the sport, that FIFA is willing to do anything in the name of money.<\/p>\n

In the lead-up to the World Cup, current FIFA President Gianni Infantino cozied up to Donald Trump while the U.S. president bombed seven countries after retaking office and allowed his secret police force to round up immigrants and kill U.S. citizens at home. Though all of this flies in the face of FIFA\u2019s human rights policy, Infantino seemed happy to selectively ignore it all to ensure the smooth operation of a tournament that\u2019s expected to generate almost $9 billion<\/a> for the organization.<\/p>\n

In the opening weeks of the tournament, the biggest controversy was the treatment of the Iranian team, which was forced by U.S. visa restrictions to travel back and forth<\/a> between Mexico and the U.S. between its games. This travel killed the Iranian players\u2019 preparation and recovery time, and when a goal that would have sent them to the next round of the World Cup was ruled out<\/a> \u2014 the same day that the World Cup\u2019s host country was bombing their own \u2014 many Iranians felt the decision was another injustice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But as this tournament reaches its apex, controversies that feed into that idea that the World Cup is not fair seem to be everywhere you look. The fallout from Egypt\u2019s exit from the tournament wrestled the headlines from another story that hadn\u2019t exactly improved the optics: Trump\u2019s meddling in the suspension of U.S. star Flo Balogun<\/a> for the host nation\u2019s match with Belgium.<\/p>\n

Balogun wasn\u2019t supposed to play in the match, after picking up a red card against Bosnia-Herzegovina. But after Trump put in a call to Infantino, suddenly he was able to play.<\/p>\n

Like some of the theories doing the rounds about Egypt\u2019s loss, we can\u2019t say definitively that Trump\u2019s call was the decisive factor in the decision. And Infantino insists it was made independently and autonomously<\/a> by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee. But in the context of FIFA\u2019s dodgy past, people find it easy to believe the worst.<\/p>\n

The rhetoric from the U.S. hasn\u2019t helped with the optics.<\/p>\n

While Trump openly advertised that he requested that FIFA review the decision, Andrew Giuliani \u2014 the head of the White House Task Force<\/em>\u00a0on the FIFA World Cup 2026 \u2014 somehow thought invoking Trump\u2019s record on electoral integrity was the right way to defend him, saying: \u201cWe believe in a level playing field \u2026 I can tell you President Trump takes it extremely seriously, whether it\u2019s on the pitch or whether it\u2019s in the ballot box.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feelings of Injustice From the Global South<\/h2>\n

I am among the people angered about what happened in the Egypt match, and many others who also have ties to the Global South have felt the same way. And just as is true for all sports fans who pay attention to broader geopolitics, the emotions we feel about sports are often about something bigger than whatever\u2019s happening on the field of play.<\/p>\n

And whether it\u2019s Egypt, Iran, or Ghana in its match against England<\/a>, there is a deep sense for many who support these teams that it\u2019s smaller, poorer, less powerful countries that are disproportionately on the receiving end of injustice in sport \u2014 up to and including refereeing decisions.<\/p>\n

People from these parts of the world are already on the receiving end of so many of the world\u2019s inequalities. Whether it\u2019s Western militarism \u2014 from the ongoing genocide in Gaza to the U.S.\u2019s illegal war in Iran \u2014 or the effects of colonialism, which continue to shape inequity and political stability around the globe, people feel these injustices in their bodies every day.<\/p>\n

Sports are supposed to be an escape from all of that \u2014 a place in which countries that have been on the receiving end of imperial brutality have a rare chance to compete with each other and with world powers on a level playing field, and dream they can actually pull off what is often deemed to be impossible. And when they do so well and get so close, to have it then taken away because of a questionable refereeing decision on the field is a gut punch. And when even sport proves to be unfair, what do we have left?<\/p>\n

Last month, Stefan Szymanski and I co-wrote a piece in The Economist<\/em><\/a> that this may just be the last World Cup, arguing that football\u2019s world order could break down as a result of FIFA enabling American bellicosity.<\/p>\n

But could widespread feelings that the tournament is rigged be the breakage point instead? If many in the Global South now refuse to watch what remains of the World Cup because they no longer see it as a fair competition, where does that leave the tournament? And will those fans return for 2030?<\/p>\n

Chances are that for many, the answer is yes. Because what history has shown us is that no matter what they\u2019re served by FIFA and the authoritarian nations that host World Cups, most people keep coming back. We love the game too much. Perhaps our mistake was to ever believe the illusion that sport could be an escape from the cruel world it inhabits.<\/p>\n

Putting the World at the Heart of the World Cup<\/h2>\n

When North African teams win World Cup matches, Astoria\u2019s Steinway Street is a party. But in the hour after Tuesday\u2019s match, most people were in a state of shock. Slowly but surely though, they began to gather \u2014 chanting, singing, letting off fireworks. They were still proud of their team.<\/p>\n

While Bakar stood in the middle of the street waving an Egyptian flag, many around him waved Palestinian flags as well.<\/p>\n

In Gaza, watch parties for Egypt games during this World Cup became a source of joy<\/a> for Palestinians who have endured a genocide over the past two and a half years. Egyptian Coach Hassan\u2019s use of his platform at the World Cup to speak out about their plight<\/a> only increased the connection to the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is anyone in the world who does not feel for the Palestinian people, then they are not human \u2014 whether they are Arab, European, or American,\u201d he said ahead of the match with Argentina.<\/p>\n

For many in Gaza, Hassan\u2019s words and actions were particularly powerful because of where they were happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Hossam Hassan raised the [Palestinian] flag in the very land that funded the genocide and was a strong ally for the genociders and the children killers \u2014 this moment stands like a reminder that Palestine [is] in the heart, Palestine will not be forgotten, that Palestine is always seen,\u201d says Hend Salama Abo Helow, a writer based in Gaza whose work has appeared in <\/a>Truthout<\/em><\/a> and other outlets. \u201cIt was so uplifting. Such a satisfying moment to see Palestine resurface again, and Gaza resurface again [on the world stage].\u201d<\/p>\n

The joy Palestinians have derived from the Egyptian team has even been marred by Israeli violence: Before the match, Mohamed al-Wahidi, an aid worker who had been key in organizing those watch parties in Gaza, was killed in an Israeli airstrike<\/a> \u2014 another reminder that even as the World Cup brings people together in many ways, violent powers continue to prevail.<\/p>\n

And in that context, the controversy over the refereeing seems to have struck a chord with Palestinians, many of whom even believe the refereeing decisions were a form of retribution for the Egyptian team\u2019s pro-Palestine advocacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery Gazan felt the injustice imposed on the Egyptian team. They were punished for being brave enough to stand on the right side of history,\u201d Abo Helow told me. \u201cRegardless of the final score, Egypt\u2019s team won something far greater in the eyes of Palestinians: the test of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

That solidarity was returned by Egyptian fans in New York, for whom the best antidote to a post-match malaise seemed to be singing and dancing to the popular song, \u201cAna Dammi Falasteeni\u201d (My Blood Is Palestinian).<\/p>\n

Somehow, in the wake of a devastating loss, they still found a way to come together. I will always remember that moment, as well as the celebrations after Zico\u2019s disallowed goal.<\/p>\n

It was a beautiful moment. It was an iconic goal. And whether it shows up on the scoresheet or not, nobody can ever take away the fact that those of us in New York\u2019s Little Egypt all experienced it together.<\/p>\n

Go to Original – scheerpost.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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