VAR controversy casts shadow over Argentina’s dramatic victory against Egypt

WEB DESK: An extraordinary post-match outburst has followed Egypt’s dramatic 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the World Cup round of 16 on Tuesday night, as the Pharaohs’ head coach, Hossam Hassan, levelled explosive allegations against FIFA and announced a personal boycott of the remainder of the tournament.

The defending world champions staged a stunning late recovery at the Atlanta Stadium, scoring three goals in the final 13 minutes to overturn a 2-0 deficit and keep their defence title alive.

Egypt were eliminated from the World Cup after a 3-2 round-of-16 defeat to Argentina, despite taking an early lead through Yasser Ibrahim and keeping the defending champions under pressure for much of the match. The Pharaohs also saw their goalkeeper save a Lionel Messi penalty, but were unable to hold on as Argentina completed the comeback.

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They extended their lead to 2-0 in the second half through Mostafa Ziko and looked destined for a historic upset. The match flipped in the final minutes as Argentina mounted a relentless comeback, scoring three quick goals through Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi, and an agonizing stoppage-time winner from Enzo Fernández to break Egyptian hearts.

The match was marked by several refereeing decisions that led to protests from the sidelines. Most notably, a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review canceled Egypt’s second goal in the 59th minute, which changed the momentum of the knockout game. VAR is a system where a team of officials uses video replays to help the main referee correct decisions on the field.

Allegations of external influence

At the post-match press conference, Egypt manager Hossam Hassan stated that his team outperformed Argentina across the field but lost due to commercial interests behind the tournament.

“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,” Hassan told reporters. “Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions 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 champions received support at every level.”

The Egypt boss went as far as to label the tournament as “rigged,” expressing deep disillusionment with the sport’s governing body. “Argentina’s victory is entirely undeserved. I promise you, once I return today, I will not watch football in this World Cup at all, because there is no justice in it.

My personal protest is that I will not watch this World Cup again,” he added. Hassan also revealed he confronted French referee François Letexier at the final whistle, stating: “What I told the referee was, ‘This is unfair.’ I said maybe he is carrying a scar or has something to hide. If somebody is trying to hide something, they often fail to hide it.”

Inconsistencies and French referee row

The Egyptian camp’s frustration was compounded by what they perceived as stark inconsistencies in the application of VAR technology. While Egypt’s goal was ruled out, Hassan pointed out that a clear shirt-pull on Mohamed Salah inside the penalty box went completely unreviewed.

Furthermore, the Pharaohs argued that Alexis Mac Allister had committed a foul in the build-up to Enzo Fernández’s 93rd-minute winner, which also escaped scrutiny. “We have not seen respect or fair play,” Hassan lamented.

“A penalty was ruled out, it was not even checked by the VAR, and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed. Life is unfair, normal life is unfair, so why is there no fairness in sports?”

Hassan also hit out at the appointment of Letexier, noting that the Egyptian Football Association had formally objected to the French referee prior to kickoff due to potential underlying tensions stemming from the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France.

“There seem to be pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome. We were objecting to the selection of the referee because of the French situation, but everybody has to suffer at some point, and we suffered,” the manager said.

Despite his profound anger at the match officials, Hassan praised his squad’s valiancy, highlighting that the domestic-heavy side left the pitch with their honour intact.