Mohamed Salah denied a clear penalty against Argentina? The new angle proves the referee right

Mohamed Salah’s penalty appeal against Argentina sparked outrage across Egypt, with fans, pundits and even coach Hossam Hassan accusing the referee of denying the Pharaohs a World Cup quarter-final.

But as the dust settles on one of the most controversial matches of the tournament, the new record seems to tell a different story. A new angle suggests that referee Francois Letexier may have got arguably the biggest decision of the night absolutely right.

The incident came deep into the end and the score was locked at 2-2 after Argentina staged a stunning comeback from two goals down. Salah drove into the penalty area from the left and tried to create one last chance for Egypt after Lionel Messi and Cristian Romero had canceled out goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico. Argentina vs Egypt: Mohamed Salah and Egypt complain to the referee. (Photo by Reuters)

As Julian Alvarez sprinted back to the defence, Salah went to ground inside the box. Egypt immediately appealed for a penalty, but Letexier waved play on.

Alvarez gets to the ball first and Salah gets rid of the ball.
One can then literally see him take his foot off and Salah forces contact. pic.twitter.com/e37tHlQQZQ— PS (@dostoevesque) July 7, 2026

Seconds later, Argentina launched a counter-attack and Enzo Fernandez completed a stunning turnaround by firing home the winner in the 93rd minute.

The decision immediately became one of the biggest talking points of the World Cup.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan furiously attacked the officials after the match.

“I don’t want to say it nicely and talk about bad luck. We were cheated unfairly today, we suffered injustice,” Hassan said.

“I will speak my mind 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 call everyone to come and participate?”

Given the context, the outrage was understandable. A penalty at this stage could have sent Egypt 3-2 up and prevented a counter-attack that ultimately knocked them out of the tournament.

A NEW ANGLE PROPOSES THE ARBITRATOR OF TRUTH

However, a newly surfaced replay has shifted the conversation.

Instead of Alvarez clipping Salah from behind, the footage shows the Liverpool forward losing his balance before making contact with the Argentine. There is little evidence of Alvarez extending his leg or making a challenge that would constitute a foul.

Instead, Salah appears to have either run over the ball in an attempt to change direction, or initiated contact himself after losing control. In both cases, the record suggests there was insufficient contact by the defender to justify the penalty.

It makes Letexier’s decision look right on the field.

But that doesn’t erase Egypt’s frustration from the rest of the evening.

The Pharaohs also saw Mostafa Zico’s spectacular goal ruled out by VAR after Marwan Attia was adjudged to have fouled Lisandro Martinez earlier in the move, while they also complained that Hamdy Fathy had his shirt off moments before Argentina’s winner.

Former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry sympathized with Egypt’s frustration, claiming the biggest problem was the inconsistency in how VAR judged various incidents, rather than any conspiracy.

Roy Keane and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, meanwhile, dismissed Hassan’s claims that FIFA wanted Lionel Messi and Argentina to progress, insisting Egypt’s failure to protect a 2-0 lead was the deciding factor.

The Salah incident seemed to strengthen Egypt’s case at first. But with a clearer angle emerging, this particular controversy may finally be put to rest.

After all the criticism leveled at the refereeing team after the match, it appears that this decision was reported correctly.

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– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

08 Jul 2026 19:44 IST