Roy Keane Slams Egypt Coach Over Messi Conspiracy Claims
Roy Keane criticized Egypt coach Hossam Hassan for blaming VAR and FIFA conspiracy theories after Egypt's 2-3 loss to Argentina, saying managers must take responsibility rather than make excuses.
Former footballer Roy Keane, commenting for ITV, criticized Egypt national team coach Hossam Hassan for blaming everything else rather than taking responsibility after Egypt's 2-3 loss to Argentina in the 2026 World Cup round of 16.
Hassan was dissatisfied after conceding a late comeback, arguing that Egypt should have scored a goal that was disallowed by VAR. He also noted that Egypt was not awarded a penalty after being fouled in the box, unlike Argentina who received one in the first half. Hassan subsequently claimed that FIFA had pre-planned Argentina's advancement for marketing reasons.
However, Roy Keane countered: "That's the kind of excuse you'd expect from a fan after a poor performance, not from a national team manager. If your team is losing 2-0 late in the game, the first thing you should do is look in the mirror and see what you missed."
"Every time Messi wins, people start talking about conspiracy theories instead of discussing football. It's lazy. Lazy to accept defeat, lazy to analyze what went wrong, and unwilling to improve your team. Blaming referees and claiming the tournament is a marketing plot doesn't change the fact that your team couldn't hold the score until the end of the game. That's not the mentality a national team manager should have. Leaders must take responsibility. They don't make excuses."
