Egypt manager Hossam Hassan found himself caught in the middle of an altercation between his two wives, leading to the 60-year-old collapsing.

Hassan was involved in plenty of controversy at the 2026 World Cup, especially when his team were knocked out at the Round of 16 stage by Argentina. He got involved in discussions surrounding corruption and even threw up the ‘X’ sign during the match.

Just over one month later, and he’s back in the headlines. This time, his personal life has come to the fore, with his first and second wives getting involved in a fight.

Paul Childs via Reuters

According to talkSPORT, Howaida El-Gharbawy and Dina Mostafa, Hassan’s first and second wives, respectively, got into a heated argument in a cafe. The incident took place in Porto Marina.

The confrontation quickly turned physical as both women sustained injuries before being pulled apart by onlookers. Hassan tried to stop things from escalating but reportedly fainted in his attempt.

Footage emerged online, showing one of the women being dragged away, while the other was helped back to her feet. They both ended up with cuts and bruises. Watch the scuffle below.

As a result of the shocking incident, Hassan has opted to divorce Howaida, his first wife. The pair have three children together and had previously separated in 2022 before resuming their marriage just over a week later. The 60-year-old football manager also married Dina in 2015.

Why Did Hossam Hassan Have Two Wives?

REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer

In Egypt, a man is legally allowed to marry up to four different women. The law states that he must inform both his previous and future wives of his intentions.

Men also have no waiting period after divorce before they can remarry, but the African country has a law which prevents women from doing so for three months. It means Hassan could now marry another wife at any time, but Howaida would have to wait at least 90 days.

It comes over a month after Hassan had to be dragged down the tunnel of the Atlanta Stadium as he fumed at referee decisions which led to his country’s World Cup exit.

Following the defeat, he suggested there had been favouritism towards their South American opponents. More specifically, Lionel Messi.

He said: “We looked better than the reigning champions – better in everything – 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.

“In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champion received support at every.” level.

Newcastle United have reportedly discussed making a move to sign Brighton star Carlos Baleba ahead of Manchester United this summer.

The Magpies have brought in six new faces this summer with Ewen Jaouen and Lukas Hornicek bolstering their goalkeeper department, Amar Dedic strengthening the defence, Aladji Bamba and Seun Steur joining the midfield, and Bazoumana Toure adding to the attack, following the departures of Kieran Trippier, Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali, and Bruno Guimaraes.

But with the midfield additions being very young and inexperienced, new manager Matthias Jaissle is keen to add more top-level experience to the squad, and Baleba is someone who has emerged as a potential target.

According to a report by The Athletic, a move for the Cameroon international has been discussed internally at St James’ Park as they consider ways to replace their captain, as well as Tonali, before the transfer window closes on September 1st.

Jaissle is understood to also want to add some leadership to his group after a host of senior exits, but it remains unclear if the club feels that the 22-year-old can offer that immediately.

Manchester United have been heavily linked with a move to sign Baleba over the last 12 months, even agreeing personal terms with him last summer. But their interest this year has cooled due to Brighton’s reported demands, which has opened the door for Newcastle to potentially swoop and get a deal done under their noses.

It has been reported elsewhere that Brighton could be open to a deal worth around £65m this summer, and Newcastle have the cash to make it happen if they wish to proceed at that price, having brought in over £240m in sales.

The Toon have also shown a strong interest in Bayern Munich star Joao Palhinha, with talks ongoing between the clubs, while they have also made an enquiry to RB Leipzig over a move for Nico Seiwald this summer.

‘Incredible’ Baleba Could Be Difference Maker

via Reuters

Baleba’s performances for Brighton have seen him attract the attention of some of the top clubs in recent transfer windows, and so it’s no surprise at all that the Seagulls want to keep him.

Newcastle know that right now his stock may have dropped a little, after a difficult season in which he struggled to find consistency in his form, but his ability is still clear and there for all to see.

Manager Fabian Hurzeler believes he will get back to his best, hailing his ‘incredible’ ability.

“Maybe it went a little bit too fast, there was a lot of rumours about him, he played an incredible season, but I always try to be humble with the players.”

Newcastle will know that they won’t get many opportunities to snatch Baleba ahead of their rivals, and this summer may be their last and only chance. If they can seal the deal it would be a true statement of intent, but also a game-changing signing for their season.

Arsenal’s 2026/27 Premier League campaign is just days away, with Mikel Arteta’s side aiming to retain their crown and secure back-to-back league titles for the first time since the 1930s.

The Gunners ended their 22-year wait for a league title last term, gazumping Manchester City in Pep Guardiola’s final season as the Citizens’ boss. They also toppled the north-west club in the season’s curtain-raiser on Saturday, emerging from the Community Shield as 3-0 winners at the Millennium Stadium.

This result over Enzo Maresca’s men came after a somewhat dubious pre-season for Arteta’s team, which exposed some of their flaws heading into the new campaign.

With that said, here is everything we learned from Arsenal’s run-up to the 2026/27 season.

Arsenal still need more attacking firepower

REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

As good as Arsenal looked against City, their previous three matches in pre-season all ended without victory. Conceding six goals across defeats to Real Betis and Borussia Dortmund, before being held by Como at the Emirates Stadium, might have raised alarm bells for Arteta.

While the Spaniard can probably compartmentalise these results due to the lack of key personnel who were away enjoying holidays after the World Cup, certain aspects of the games might have concerned him. Most notably, the Gunners looked incapable of threatening the opposition for long periods of these matches.

Ultimately, these offensive deficiencies highlighted the need to dip into the market again and strengthen the attack. The North London club are seemingly aware of this, but time is running out.

Bradley Barcola remains a viable option, with the player said to be keen on a move to the English capital despite the intense speculation linking him to Liverpool. The likes of Kenan Yildiz and Julian Alvarez continue to surface in conversations around potential targets, but Arsenal are yet to make a concrete move for either.

Arsenal’s defence is light on options

Arsenal were without Jurrien Timber and William Saliba for the entirety of pre-season, leaving their options on the right-hand side of the defence extremely limited. The Dutchman is said to be a matter of weeks away from a return, while the Frenchman could be out for the first three or four months of the campaign.

In the duo’s absence, Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera stepped up, but behind them, the Gunners are relying on inexperienced academy prospects. Theo Julienne and Marli Salmon started the final pre-season match against Como, and while the latter impressed, Arteta will surely be reluctant to use either player in meaningful games in the season proper.

If one of White or Mosquera were to sustain an injury in the next few days, the Arsenal manager would be forced to push someone into an unnatural position. One of Declan Rice or Martin Zubimendi would likely fill in at right-back, which is far from ideal, even if for just a matter of games.

Arsenal are clearly looking to address this shortage in their squad. Ezri Konsa remains a primary target, while Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah emerged as an option late last week.

A Declan Rice injury would hurt more than Mikel Arteta could imagine

Arsenal’s Declan Rice via REUTERS/Scott Heppell

Midfield is where Arsenal were most hindered by World Cup absences throughout pre-season. Zubimendi, Rice, Mikel Merino, Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze all joined up with the squad late, while Bruno Guimaraes only completed his move to the Emirates towards the end of pre-season.

This meant that Myles Lewis-Skelly was left to hold down the fort by himself in most games, with the teenager deployed alongside attacking midfielders like Ethan Nwaneri and Kai Havertz for the majority of the minutes. Unsurprisingly, this left the Gunners vulnerable in the middle of the park.

A recurring theme throughout pre-season was Arsenal’s midfield getting bypassed, particularly in moments of transition, leaving opposition attackers driving at their back four in space. As good as Lewis-Skelly is in possession, he’s not a particularly effective recovery defender, and this showed.

This problem also continued into the first half of the Community Shield, even with Guimaraes added to the mix. City were able to break past Arsenal’s midfield and into space several times throughout the first half.

Declan Rice is evidently the man who prevents these moments from materialising when he starts. The England international has the remarkable ability to eat up ground when the opposition has breached Arsenal’s midfield line, and win the ball back.

If Rice were to sustain an injury of any significance, Arsenal might seriously struggle to contain the opposition in transition.

Myles Lewis-Skelly is a potential superstar who cannot be sold

Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

While he looked slightly susceptible to fast breaks when playing as a solo pivot in the first few matches, Lewis-Skelly showed his elite in-possession abilities throughout pre-season. Tasked with orchestrating Arsenal’s build-up as the sole midfielder, he did this effectively and was a point of reference for the Gunners in this position.

The youngster was essentially on trial throughout this pre-season, and he passed with flying colours. Speculation surfaced online linking him with moves to Manchester United and Chelsea, hinting that Arsenal might be prepared to cash in after signing Guimaraes, and if the starlet failed to impress in pre-season.

Despite his excellent end to last season, the sample size of Lewis-Skelly in midfield was still too small to be sure about him in this role heading into the new season. Arsenal were looking for assurances with his displays in these friendlies, and he’s certainly done enough to convince the key decision-makers at Highbury House that he is capable of being a prominent squad player for a team with Premier League and Champions League aspirations.

Arsenal simply cannot cash in on a player who could dominate their midfield for several years to come.

All Statistics via FotMob – correct as of 18/08/2026