How an Egypt-Argentina World Cup game became a referendum on Palestine
Contested calls and rival flags showed how Palestine now shapes debates over power and fairness in sport. Tuesday’s round-of-16 FIFA World Cup match between Egypt
Contested calls and rival flags showed how Palestine now shapes debates over power and fairness in sport. Tuesday’s round-of-16 FIFA World Cup match between Egypt and Argentina in Atlanta was perhaps both the tournament’s most controversial game and its most politically consequential. After going up 1-0 against the defending champions, Egypt had a second goal controversially disallowed and its request for video review of an Argentina goal denied. Fans and experts complained that video review (VAR) was employed unevenly and that Egypt’s 3-2 defeat was unjust. Egyptian manager Hossam Hassan said the game was “not fair”, and suggested that FIFA had wanted Argentina and its global superstar, Lionel Messi, to advance in the tournament. The Egyptian Football Association filed a formal complaint on Wednesday. Lost in the game’s controversial ending is perhaps a much bigger story — the way in which the Egypt-Argentina game has turned into the latest marker of the Palestinian struggle. Increasingly, positions on Israel and Palestine are seen as a gauge of political and moral integrity, while the Palestinian cause has emerged as a visible political dividing line within sport. Nowhere in recent sport memory has this been clearer than the Egypt-Argentina match. In the lead-up to the game, Hassan used his platform to highlight the Palestinian plight. After the Egyptian team’s first-ever World Cup knockout game victory on July 3, Hassan waved the Palestinian flag on the pitch and then dedicated the win to Palestine during his post-game news conference.
He then used a Monday pre-game news conference to deliver a passionate address about Palestinian suffering. As part of his remarks, Hassan said that anyone who doesn’t feel compassion for Palestinians “is not a human being”. The politics surrounding Israel and Palestine also spilled into the fan experience. During the match, Palestinians in Gaza waved Egyptian flags and cheered on the Egyptian squad. Meanwhile, Egyptian and Argentinian supporters inside the stadium traded flag jabs, with Argentinian supporters raising an Israeli flag and Egyptian fans holding up a Palestinian one. The political entanglements The appearance of an Israeli flag among Argentinian supporters was noteworthy and symbolically significant, particularly given Argentinians’ public opinion and politics. Polling data shows that the Argentinian public as a whole has grown highly critical of Israel, but the government remains ardently pro-Israel. Argentinian President Javier Milei’s relationship with US President Donald Trump – who has taken credit for bringing the World Cup to North America – is also important. Milei and Trump are reportedly very close, with the American leader calling Milei his “favourite president” and the Argentinian head of state offering open, explicit support for his American counterpart. Importantly, both leaders are highly supportive of Israel. Milei recently proclaimed that he is “proud to be the most Zionist president in the world”, while Trump has repeatedly described himself as Israel’s “best friend”. Trump is also close to FIFA president Gianni Infantino. In 2025, Infantino lobbied for Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The BriefWire