Did VAR save Argentina again? Blatant injustice, claims Egypt after dramatic loss
Egypt’s heartbreaking 3-2 defeat by Argentina in the last 16 of the World Cup sparked fresh debate over VAR, with head coach Hossam Hassan accusing the incumbent of treating his side unfairly after the Pharaohs let a two-goal lead slip away in the last 11 minutes in Atlanta.
Argentina hit back through Cristiano Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez to secure their place in the quarter-finals. But while the defending champions celebrated another great escape from the World Cup, the mood in the Egyptian camp was one of disbelief, with players and coaches convinced that two questionable refereeing decisions had changed the course of the match.
Argentina vs Egypt, FIFA World Cup: HIGHLIGHTS
“I’m not convinced about this result. I’m not convinced about how things went during this match,” Hassan said after the match.
“We were treated unfairly today. We suffered injustice.”
Full-time Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan’s interview:
“I’ll say what I mean, regardless of the consequences, this was clearly a rigged match and the whole world saw it.
“And I want to say one more thing, if they want Argentina to win so badly, why challenge everyone — Danis (@DanisMCFC) July 7, 2026
The Egyptian coach insisted his team matched and even outplayed the reigning world champions for most of the match.
“Compared to the reigning champions, we looked better. We were better in everything, but the result, the result, was affected by internal factors on the pitch, inside the game and external factors before the game,” Hassan said.
His frustration stemmed largely from two incidents involving VAR, one that ruled out what would have been Egypt’s second goal and another where the Pharaohs were denied control of the pitch after Argentina scored the winner.
VAR STEALS THE HEADLIGHT
Egypt took a deserved lead early in the first half through Yasser Ibrahim and even survived a Lionel Messi penalty after goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir produced a superb save. Then in the 58th minute they thought they had struck another decisive blow.
Haissem Hassan brought the ball out deep in Egypt’s half before finding Mohamed Salah, who slipped a perfectly balanced pass into the path of Mostaf Zico. The forward finished superbly past Emiliano Martinez and the Egyptian celebrations began.
They didn’t last.
Referee Francois Letexier was sent to the pitch monitor after VAR spotted a foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martinez earlier in the move. Footage showed Attia pulling down an Argentina defender before stepping on his foot while Argentina were still building their attack. Letexier overturned the goal and ruled that the foul occurred during the attacking phase leading up to the goal.
One rule for Argentina, another rule for everyone else. The incident happened deep in Argentina’s half and VAR reviewed it and disallowed Egypt’s goal. Yet an almost identical incident in one of Argentina’s goals against Austria was not even checked. It is institutional and it is — Bolarinwa Olajide (@iambolar) July 7, 2026
The decision immediately divided opinion.
Former England goalkeeper Rob Green questioned whether VAR should have intervened at all.
“Certainly, that’s not in the realm of VAR to review. It’s a whole field away,” Green said on FOX Sports.
However, former FIFA referee Dr Joe Machnik supported the decision, saying that once the officials judged it to be a foul in the attacking phase, VAR was right to recommend an on-pitch review.
Egypt refused to let the setback get to them. Ten minutes later they opened the scoring for Argentina again, Salah and Hassan combining brilliantly before Zico fired over once more. This time the goal stood, putting the Pharaohs 2-0 up and seemingly on their way to one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
EGYPT CLAIMS INJUSTICE OF VAR
Argentina finally pulled off a stunning comeback when Romero pulled one back before Messi leveled the scores. Deep into stoppage time, Enzo Fernandez headed home what proved to be the winner, but Egypt believed there should have been one last intervention from VAR.
Desperate for an equalizer, the Pharaohs appealed for a penalty after Alexis Mac Allister appeared to bring down the Egyptian striker in the box. The game continued without Letexier being asked to review the incident, prompting furious protests from the Egyptian bench. Hassan was blocked during the chaotic closing stages while one member of his coaching staff was shown a red card.
The Egyptian coach also questioned the fixture schedule, criticizing the decision to hold the elimination game at noon in Atlanta.
“I daresay the person who plans those matches is someone who doesn’t play and has never played football. At noon you go for a walk, you go for some fresh air, maybe you go for brunch, but you don’t go to the field,” Hassan said.
“There were a lot of things to question on and off the pitch. It’s just about credibility, the lack of credibility with the way things went. I’m proud of my players. But we didn’t get what we deserved.”
Zico, whose evening swung from elation to sorrow, was equally emotional after the final whistle.
“No fair game. The referee was not fair. This is a blatant injustice that everyone can see. It throws away the hard work of the whole country,” the striker said.
He then ended his post-match remarks with a biting, sarcastic swipe at the reigning world champions.
“Congratulations, congratulations to Argentina for winning the World Cup. Congratulations. That’s all. They don’t need anything else.”
Controversy is unlikely to change the outcome. Argentina are through to the quarter-finals after another dramatic exit, while Egypt leave the tournament with their best World Cup performance, allegedly botched by VAR.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
08 Jul 2026 01:49 IST