Hossam Hassan’s booking sparks further controversy
One of the biggest talking points of the match came when Egypt manager Hossam Hassan was shown a yellow card after making an “X” gesture with his arms on the touchline.
The crossed-arms “X” signal is FIFA’s universal gesture for reporting alleged racist abuse. Under FIFA’s anti-racism procedures, a player, coach or team official can use the gesture to alert the referee to an alleged incident of discriminatory abuse.
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According to FIFA’s protocol, the signal is intended to activate a three-step process: initially stopping the match, then suspending it if the abuse continues, and ultimately abandoning the game should the situation remain unresolved.
?TRENDING: FIFA created a rule where making an X sign with the arms activates an anti-racism protocol.
Today, the Egyptian coach made the sign to report a case of racism committed by Argentina, but the referees ignored it and continued the game. pic.twitter.com/P94P6nKyyi
— Polymarket Sports (@PolymarketSport) July 7, 2026
Hassan’s gesture did not result in play being stopped. Instead, the referee booked the Egypt manager and allowed the match to continue, a decision that quickly became another major source of anger within the Egyptian camp and fuelled further criticism of the officiating after the final whistle.
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