Egypt player’s old anti-Messi posts surface after claiming World Cup is ‘being given’ to Argentina
Egypt’s Mostafa Zico made headlines around the world for claiming their 3-2 Round of 16 loss to Argentina and Lionel Messi was due to unfair treatment.
Egypt’s 2-0 lead against Argentina crumbled into a 3-2 defeat within the span of 15 minutes, with multiple decisions in the game coming under fire after such a narrow win.
Zico was among the loudest critics, but fans believe they’ve unearthed what might be personal motivations for his reaction, given past comments against Messi and Argentina.
Mostafa Zico’s Facebook highlights past negative comments towards Messi and Barcelona
Zico is an admitted Real Madrid fan, and as a result, has multiple Facebook posts from the past criticizing the Spanish club Barcelona and their legend, Messi. He’s also an ardent Cristiano Ronaldo fan.
One of his comments in particular is being highlighted as hypocritical, as Zico criticizes Barcelona fans complaining about the referees after a loss.
“Every single matchday Barca fans keep talking about the refs. Bro, y’all don’t even win in the first place. Win a game first, then come talk about the refereeing. And yeah… We love robbery.”
Refereeing is a major debate at every World Cup, with Argentina’s win over Egypt amplifying concerns for the 2026 edition. Nonetheless, the matches are decided on the field, where Argentina scored three well-earned goals to keep their dream alive.
By Zico’s own words, ‘Win the game first, then come talk about the refereeing.’
What did Mostafa Zico say after Egypt’s World Cup loss to Messi and Argentina?
Zico saw a second-half goal disallowed by VAR for an early build-up foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martinez. The application of the rule to disallow the goal was legal, but was an incredibly aggressive use of VAR that’s been criticized heavily.
With Egypt also feeling like they didn’t get a penalty call on Mo Salah at the end of the game, Zico went on a post-match tirade against the fairness of the match.
“The referee is unfair, the injustice is clear… God is sufficient for me and the best disposer of affairs. He’s wasting the effort of an entire nation. The cup is being given to Argentina. They win the World Cup”.
Zico’s disallowed goal was an unquestionably aggressive use of VAR, although the supposed missed penalty for Salah was marginal.
It’s a shame to watch a World Cup match end with so many questions in the air. While Argentina will feel they earned this win, a generation of Egyptians will always remember this game in a different light.
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