Egypt's coach and team director miss both November qualifiers against Malawi, and Zikou is out until June.
FIFA has suspended Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan for three matches and Mostafa Zikou for five, the Egyptian Football Association said on Monday. The sanctions came after the pair criticised the referee following Egypt's 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup, played in Atlanta on July 6.
Ibrahim Hassan, Hossam's twin and Egypt's team director, has also been suspended for three matches. The EFA's statement put it this way: "The decisions include the suspension of Hossam Hassan and Ibrahim Hassan for three matches each, while Ziko has been suspended for five matches," the EFA said.
Argentina had come from 2-0 down to win, and at the post-match news conference Hossam Hassan rejected the idea that Egypt had simply been unlucky:
"I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck."
He said Egypt had been cheated unfairly and had suffered injustice. "A penalty was ruled out; it was not even checked by VAR," Hassan said.
Egypt also believe they should have been awarded a penalty for a pull by Alexis Mac Allister on Hamdy Fathy in the build-up to Enzo Fernandez's winner. "We haven't seen respect or fair play. There has not been respect or fair play," Hassan said.
FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina defended the officiating, saying such allegations could provoke threats against referees and their families.
The EFA has asked FIFA's disciplinary committee for "the detailed reasons and justifications for the decisions", so it can assess the legal position. It is planning to appeal once that assessment is done.
As things stand, Hossam Hassan, Ibrahim Hassan and Zikou will all miss both of Egypt's matches against Malawi this November, in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. The twins will also miss Egypt's opening fixture in March 2027, against Angola.
Zikou's absence runs until June, which rules him out of the remaining four AFCON 2027 qualifiers and one further game.
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