“This tournament is fixed’: Egypt star launches furious attack on FIFA after controversial Argentina defeat

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.