A cop shoved a senior Egyptian soccer official in front of fans, including young children, during a scuffle at the national team’s hotel in Dallas.
The incident unfolded as crowds gathered at the team’s base to seek autographs and photos from the Egyptian squad, who are in Texas ahead of their last-32 World Cup clash with Australia. Fan footage shows former Egypt star Trezeguet signing a shirt and taking a selfie with a young fan when the team director and former defender, Ibrahim Hassan, walks over to join him.
Seconds later, a security officer marches toward Hassan and appears to shove him backward. Egypt players and staff immediately pile in, with the officer repeatedly shouting “BACK OFF!” The confrontation lasted around 30 seconds before several members of the Egyptian delegation were pulled away from the scene.
Hassan, 59, won 131 caps for Egypt, leaving him fifth on the country’s all-time appearance list. His identical twin brother, Hossam Hassan—one of only four players ahead of him—is the current head coach of the Egyptian squad at this tournament.
The Egyptian Football Association has issued a statement in response to the incident. “The incident began when an Egyptian child was pushed by a member of security while trying to take a souvenir photo with the national team players,” Voice of Emirates reported.
“The statement added that Ibrahim Hassan immediately intervened to protect the child and prevent him from coming to any harm. This led to a brief verbal altercation with the security guard, before the situation was quickly resolved without any escalation.”
A spokesman for the Dallas Police Department said, “We are aware of the video circulating on social media. On July 2, 2026, at approximately 11:50 a.m., the Dallas Police Department responded to the Westin at the request of hotel security regarding an individual without event credentials attempting to gain access. The situation was resolved on scene, and DPD met with representatives of the team to address their concerns. The matter has since been resolved.”
The incident is far from an isolated one. A pattern of fraught encounters between World Cup delegations and U.S. security has been building since before the tournament got underway.
Iraq striker Aymen Hussein was detained and questioned for nearly seven hours at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport last month after arriving with his squad, according to an Iraqi Olympic Committee official. Hussein was eventually allowed to enter the country, but the team’s photographer was barred from the U.S. entirely.
Senegal’s soccer federation was also forced to publicly explain footage showing its World Cup squad undergoing security checks on an airport tarmac in North Carolina, after the images sparked accusations of discriminatory treatment. The federation stressed that all checks complied with “applicable airport security regulations” and were part of an arrangement to expedite travel.
Video also emerged purportedly showing the Uruguay squad being held by police, with sniffer dogs searching their bags just before their opening match against Saudi Arabia in Miami.
And Belgium star Kevin De Bruyne and his teammates were subjected to security searches after arriving in the U.S., adding yet another high-profile name to a growing list of World Cup delegations who have found the welcome rather less warm than the host nation might have hoped.
