Furious Egypt coach Hossam Hassan lashed out at the African Cup of Nations organisers, accusing them of ’torturing’ his team after defeat to Senegal in the semi-finals.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan erupted into a furious rant after his team was eliminated from the African Cup of Nations on Wednesday with a semi-final defeat. Hassan accused the organisers of unfairly treating Egypt after Senegal won 1-0.
The only goal for Senegal in the semi-final against Mohamed Salah’s Egypt was scored by his former Liverpool teammate, Sadio Mane. Following their ouster, Hassan lost his cool and blamed the AFCON organisers for creating a disadvantage for Egypt with the scheduling.
The atmosphere at the end of the game became quite hostile as Hassan was seen raising seven fingers, highlighting the number of AFCON titles Egypt have won, while the players also confronted the officials, suggesting they were unhappy with some of the decision-making.
🇪🇬 Hossam Hassan: “I told the players to ignore [the chants from the stands] and focus.”
“I don’t want to talk about it. We are Arabs of Africa, and Egypt is great, the mother of the Arabs and the mother of Africa in terms of history and titles, and everyone is jealous!” pic.twitter.com/W4lDwmsOc4
— Gary Al-Smith (@garyalsmith) January 14, 2026
It’s important to note that Egypt were forced to travel 490 miles from Agadir to Tangier for the semi-finals after beating the Ivory Coast, while Senegal had an extra day for rest after playing Mali in the same stadium.
‘Egypt needed fairness’: Hassan
Hossam Hassan was clearly frustrated after the loss as he reminded how Senegal had an extra day for recovery, while Egypt had to make a long travel.
“Egypt does not need excuses and apologies,” Hassan said, as per SportyFM. “Egypt is great and no one will dare to win seven titles like us.
“We just needed fairness like [Senegal]. We played the day after the Senegal match, who are playing in the semi on the same field, and I’m surprised by that.
“By what FIFA law is what happened to the Egypt team done? When a team reaches the semis, do you honour it or torture it?
“It is expected that teams will be given a break fairly among them to see a great semi, but what happened is that the three teams got more rest.
Reflecting on chanting against his team, Hassan said that he had asked his team to remain focused on the game, and recounted the country’s proud history.
“I told the players to ignore [the chants from the stands] and focus. I don’t want to talk about it.
“We are Arabs of Africa and Egypt is great, the mother of the Arabs and the mother of Africa in terms of history and titles, and everyone is jealous.”
It was another disappointing end to another AFCON campaign for Egypt, who have not won the African Cup of Nations since 2010.
End of Article
