FIFA's Disciplinary Committee has issued suspensions to Egypt's head coach Hossam Hassan, forward Mostafa Zico, and team manager Ibrahim Hassan following their outspoken criticism of match officials during the team's World Cup elimination against Argentina.
According to a statement released Monday by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), Hossam Hassan and his twin brother Ibrahim have each received three-match bans, while Zico was handed a five-match suspension. The EFA announced that it has formally requested "the detailed reasons and justifications for the decisions" from FIFA and intends to submit an appeal once the legal dimensions of the penalties are evaluated.
The sanctions threaten to disrupt Egypt's upcoming international schedule. Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan could be barred from the touchline for November's Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Malawi, as well as the opening fixture of the March international fixture window. Zico's longer suspension rules him out of national team selection until June.
The disciplinary action stems from a volatile round-of-16 clash in Atlanta, United States, on July 6, where Egypt surrendered a 2-0 lead to fall to defending champions Argentina. Tensions boiled over following several disputed refereeing decisions, including an early second-half disallowed goal for Egypt and a red card shown to an Egyptian staff member after Argentina scored their match-winner.
In a scathing post-match press conference, head coach Hossam Hassan accused officials of costing his team a spot in the quarterfinals.
"I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck. We have
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