The Egypt national team match against Argentina in the 2026 World Cup witnessed a controversial moment from Hossam Hassan after signaling with his hands during the final minutes.
Egypt's national team wrote the end of its journey in the 2026 World Cup after a historic epic against Argentina, but it ended with a painful loss.
Despite Egypt leading 2-0, Argentina came back with a deadly comeback by scoring 3 goals, sending the Pharaohs out of the 2026 World Cup competitions.
Hossam Hassan raised the (x) signal (crossing the arms at the wrists) after the referee awarded Argentina's third goal and not returning to video technology in the incident of fouling Mohamed Salah.
This (x) signal means "No to racism" according to the interpretation of the International Football Association "FIFA".
It is a new method adopted by "FIFA" to alert the match referee to exposure to racism.
It was applied for the first time in the Women's World Cup under 20 years in 2024.
When someone is subjected to racial abuse, they cross their arms at the wrist to alert the referee to the presence of racism and discrimination, which are the opposites of freedom, justice, and equality.
A source within the Egyptian technical staff explained after the match against Argentina that Hossam Hassan's signal was intended to mean that the team was subjected to injustice and lack of fairness.
"FIFA" had clarified the steps for dealing with racial abuse during the match.
When players are subjected to racial abuse, they will cross their arms at the wrist to alert the referee so that he proceeds with the three steps.
The first step is to stop the match, and if the abuse continues, the match is suspended with the players and referees leaving the field.
And if the abuse does not stop during the suspension of the match, the match is canceled.
