Argentina on Tuesday sealed their place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-finals after registering 3-2 comeback victory over Egypt. But this match Round of 16 clash ended with a major controversy as Egypt’s camp accused the referee and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) of favouring the defending champions.
Leading 2-0 until the 78th minute, Egypt was looking at tournament’s biggest upsets before Argentina staged a late fightback to secure victory. However, the Egyptian team questioned several decisions of the match referee and FIFA’s VAR team.
Speaking after the defeat, Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan criticised the match officials, arguing that key decisions consistently went in Argentina’s favour. He was angry at FIFA for two major incidents that Egypt believes significantly influenced the outcome of the contest.
One of the biggest talking points came when midfielder Mostafa Ziko had a goal ruled out while Egypt were leading 1-0. Following a VAR review, referee Francois Letexier disallowed the goal after ruling that Marwan Attia had fouled Lisandro Martinez during the build-up.
The decision proved controversial because the challenge occurred deep inside Egypt’s own half, around 10 seconds before Ziko eventually found the net after a rapid counterattack. Several commentators and fans argued that the incident was too far removed from the goal to warrant VAR intervention.
Although Ziko later scored to make it 2-0, critics suggested the earlier decision prevented Egypt from taking what could have been a commanding three-goal advantage.
Another contentious moment came late in the match when Egypt appealed for a penalty following an incident involving Mohamed Salah and Julian Alvarez inside Argentina’s penalty area.
The Egyptian players claimed there was both a shirt pull and contact on Salah, but the referee waved play on and VAR did not recommend a review.
The decision drew strong protests from Egypt’s bench, with critics arguing it was inconsistent compared to the earlier intervention that disallowed Egypt’s goal.
Moments later, Argentina completed their comeback as Enzo Fernandez scored the winning goal in stoppage time.
Apart from the two headline incidents, Egypt also questioned several disciplinary decisions during the match, claiming Argentina escaped bookings for multiple fouls.
The controversy has added another talking point to one of the most dramatic knockout matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026, with the refereeing performance likely to remain under scrutiny in the days ahead.