Just when the dust over the World Cup controversy between US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino had barely died down, another round of noise erupted in the aftermath of Argentina’s controversial 3-2 victory over Egypt in the Round of 16 in Atlanta.
The defending champions staged a stunning comeback against the Pharaohs in the knockout stages on Tuesday after an unusually late VAR decision canceled out Egypt’s second goal, raising questions about the sequence of events that led to Argentina’s victory.
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The day before, President Trump announced that he had asked FIFA to review and overturn the one-game suspension of U.S. national team forward Folarin Balogun for a red card, and the governing body’s decision to do so has caused controversy. Balogun was initially suspended, but the issue was put to rest when Belgium won 4-1 in a futile game, expelling the hosts from the tournament.
Trump watching the World Cup
While anger over FIFA’s red card decision was directed at both soccer’s governing body and President Trump, Egypt’s anger was directed solely at FIFA, which, according to the Egyptian manager, “wanted to keep the world champions in the tournament.”
Head coach Hossam Hassan speculated that there was pressure on match officials to ensure that Argentina’s Lionel Messi, one of the biggest names, remained in the tournament.
“Maybe they wanted Messi to continue playing,” Hassan told beIN Sports after the match.
“In soccer, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions received support at all levels.”
The tournament often attracts political attention due to questionable integrity, but experts say the line between sport and politics is becoming even more blurred.
“After the Balogun incident, no one knows which decisions are legitimate and reliable and which are not,” Simon Chadwick, professor of African and Eurasian sports at Emlion Business School in Shanghai, told Al Jazeera.
“If the Trump administration maintains an oversight summary of this convention, it’s worth remembering that Argentina’s President Javier Milei is an ardent Trump supporter.”
Trump and his Argentine side share a close relationship. Milley regularly attends pro-Trump political rallies in the United States, and Trump has described Argentina’s far-right populist leader as his “favorite president.”
Mr Chadwick also said Mr Hassan’s vocal support for Palestine at the World Cup may have caused some officials to be “biased in making decisions”.
Hassan dedicated part of Monday’s pregame press conference to an impassioned appeal to the Palestinian people, especially those in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Advantage, Argentina
Turning to the VAR decision that split Egypt’s lead in half and then conveniently ruled in favor of Argentina, Chadwick said the playing time was “abnormal”.
He wondered why the referee didn’t call the foul in real time, which VAR did seconds later, just after Egypt had scored their second goal.
Chadwick questioned the officiating standards of the match, saying, “There were clearly abnormalities in the goal and the VAR decision, which was amplified when Argentina scored the goal.”
“During the build-up, an Argentine player committed a foul, which may have been interpreted as a similar foul to the one allegedly committed earlier by an Egyptian player. At the very least, the standards of officiating during the match were somewhat inconsistent, but critics are clearly making more serious allegations.”
However, while many social media commentators and soccer experts were furious at the decision, with Portuguese soccer icon Jose Mourinho reportedly calling the match a “heist in broad daylight,” some soccer experts said it was a close call.
“Deprived may be a strong word,” said soccer analyst Ali El Gharni.
“I think the decisions taken by both the referee and VAR could have gone either way, but I think Argentina benefited from a 50-50 affair.
“The events that led to Egypt’s canceled goal were undisputed fouls. The question is how far back should VAR go to check the legitimacy of the goal,” said El Garni, who has reported extensively on European and North African football.
But he wondered whether VAR would have been involved if the scoreline had been 2-0 in Argentina’s favor.
“If Argentina had scored, would the goal have been disallowed? That’s unlikely,” he said.
“What makes the situation worse for Egypt is that a similar incident occurred before Argentina’s third goal, which appeared to be a foul on (Mohamed) Salah, but VAR did not intervene,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chadwick questioned why VAR officials raised the issue when the on-field umpire did not call a foul when Egypt’s Marwan Attia tugged on the shirt and stepped on Lisandro Martinez’s foot.
The logical solution to the VAR issue, suggested by Chadwick, is for “fans and viewers to hear the assessment of the alleged offense, hear the various arguments and gain clear insight into the basis for the decision”.
Chadwick said Egypt’s players should not have been overwhelmed with emotion, but acknowledged that “the VAR decision caused a sense of unfairness”.
“This technology was supposed to minimize doubts and bring consistency. Instead, its use in this match had significant cognitive and behavioral effects,” he said.
“Certainly, the referee should have used his discretion and judgment to defuse the situation instead of waving cards around and further escalating the situation.”
Chadwick denied rumors of match-fixing in favor of Messi and the Argentina national team, but acknowledged the appeal of the iconic soccer player’s star power.
“There is no doubt that Messi is an essential box office attraction for the tournament.”
