In a bizarre turn of events, Egypt men’s national team head coach Hossam Hassan collapsed while attempting to break up a brawl between his wife and his now ex-wife.
The incident took place at the cafe of an upscale hotel in Marina El Alamein, on Egypt’s North Coast. Vacationers were left stunned as Hassan’s two wives at the time, Howaida Al-Gharbawy and Dina Mostafa, became embroiled in a heated verbal exchange that soon escalated into a physical altercation.
According to Spanish outlet Cadena SER, Hassan attempted to intervene and defuse the situation but collapsed under the strain of the confrontation. Egyptian outlet Al-Arabiya subsequently reported that Hassan had divorced his first wife, Howaida Al-Gharbawy, with whom he has three children, in the aftermath of the incident.
Hassan and Al-Gharbawy had separated for 10 days in 2022 before reconciling. The pair met when they were younger, while Hassan entered a second marriage with Mostafa in 2015. Even security personnel struggled to separate the two women, eventually prompting the police to intervene. Video clips of the altercation have since gone viral on social media.
While few incidents have been as outlandish as the latest, Hassan has a longstanding history of courting controversy. He made headlines during the 2026 FIFA World Cup after alleging that FIFA had shown a bias towards Lionel Messi and Argentina.
Egypt were beaten 3-2 by Argentina in the Round of 16, with one of Hassan’s team’s goals ruled out following VAR intervention. In an explosive post-match interview after the elimination, Hassan claimed his side had been treated unfairly.
“We looked better than the reigning champions, but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it. Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running. We have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice,” he said.
Hassan was also involved in the political turmoil surrounding the 2011 Egyptian revolution, which ultimately brought an end to Hosni Mubarak’s presidency. He participated in marches in support of Mubarak and advocated curbing the water supply to Tahrir Square in an attempt to disperse protesters.