The Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt at the 2026 FIFA World Cup concluded with high drama. Egypt, leading 2-0 until the 78th minute, ultimately lost 3-2 and was eliminated. However, the Egyptian camp has alleged that the referee and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) consistently ruled in Argentina’s favor throughout the match, paving the way for their comeback. In the post-match press conference, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan sharply criticized several decisions. He claimed that had a few key decisions gone the other way, the match result might have been different. While there were several controversial moments, two specific decisions have sparked the most debate.
- Mostafa Zico’s disallowed goal
With Egypt leading 1-0, Mostafa Zico found the net during a rapid counter-attack, extending the lead to 2-0. However, acting on VAR’s advice, referee François Letexier reviewed the footage on the pitch-side monitor and disallowed the goal. According to the referee’s ruling, Egyptian midfielder Marwan Attia had pulled and stepped on the foot of Argentine defender Lisandro Martínez prior to the goal. The controversy stems from the fact that the incident occurred in Egypt’s own half while Argentina was on the attack; Egypt won the ball from that tackle and traversed the entire length of the pitch to score. Many analysts and fans argue that the incident took place approximately 10 seconds and 100 yards away from the goal, raising questions about the justification for VAR intervention in a play so far removed from the actual scoring moment. Although Zico scored again minutes later to put Egypt 2-0 up, critics argue that had the first goal stood, Egypt could have led 3-0, making a comeback extremely difficult for Argentina. - Rejected penalty appeals late in the game
Towards the end of the match, Egypt made two penalty appeals regarding incidents inside Argentina’s penalty box. Egypt raised objections, particularly regarding the incident where Julian Alvarez allegedly pulled Mohamed Salah’s jersey and made contact with his legs while challenging him. However, the referee allowed play to continue, and VAR did not intervene. This decision sparked intense anger on the Egyptian bench, and coach Hossam Hassan also publicly expressed his dissatisfaction. Critics argue that while VAR reviewed footage of a relatively minor incident occurring nearly 100 yards back to disallow Zico’s goal, it completely ignored the incident involving the jersey-pulling and potential physical contact with Salah inside the penalty box. In their view, such inconsistent decision-making significantly influenced the match’s outcome.
It is worth noting, however, that neither FIFA nor the match officials have formally acknowledged any errors regarding these decisions. Consequently, both Egypt’s grievances and the refereeing decisions remain subjects of controversy.
