Defending champions Argentina might have scripted one of the World Cup’s most stunning victories in Atlanta, USA, when they defeated Egypt 3-2 in the Round of 16 after trailing by two goals, but the match stormed the headlines for worse reasons.

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More than celebrations over the Albiceleste’s memorable triumph, the result led to strong reactions, particularly around the French referee, Francois Letexier and VAR intervention.

It was widely claimed that the Africans were denied a victory they deserved.

What happened in the match

Egypt had pushed the defending champions to the brink at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, leading 2-0 and were just 11 minutes from a historic World Cup upset. But Argentina fought back with three late goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez to snatch the game. Messi, who missed a penalty earlier, netted the equaliser before Fernandez headed in the winner in stoppage time.

Egypt were left fuming over a disallowed second-half goal from Mostafa Ziko in the 58th minute, ruled out after VAR spotted a foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martinez in the buildup.

Their frustration doubled after a penalty shout for a tug on Hamdy Fathy was waved away, moments before Argentina scored the 91st-minute winner at the other end.

Egypt players, coach express disappointment

While Egypt players such as Mohamed Salah and Mostafa Ziko did not hide their frustrations with the match officials, and coach Hossam Hassan claimed outright that his team was cheated, voices also emerged from outside the football arena denouncing the results.

Hassan was also shown a yellow card by the referee for a controversial cross-armed gesture.

Analysts, ex-footballers clam VAR decision

Former England football captain Alan Shearer slammed the consistency of the officials, capturing what Egypt complained: a VAR intervention disallowed a key goal by Ziko in the second half by citing a contact, but another similar situation was ignored when they applied for a penalty in the later stages.

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“Either both are fouls or neither is a foul.

But they’re not going to re-referee they told us,” Shearer wrote in X.

The VAR episode was criticised by Rob Green, a former England goalkeeper. A sports analyst now, he said “someone stepping on someone’s tow” far away from goal was not why VAR was introduced in the game, alleging that the technology exceeded its intended powers after the referee allowed the game to continue.

Former England goalkeeper Rob Green, analysing for FOX Sports, was even more critical of the VAR decision. He argued that a foot contact occurring well away from the goal wasn’t the kind of incident VAR was designed to address, suggesting the system had overstepped its intended role after the referee had originally waved play on.

Another footballer-turned-analyst, Jamie Carragher, likewise challenged the decision, arguing that had the incident involved a different team, the goal would have counted. He suggested that in competitions like the Premier League, LaLiga, or Serie A, the goal would probably have stood even after going to VAR review.

Fernando Guerrero, a former World Cup VAR official, said both the referee and VAR were wrong to cancel Egypt’s goal. That goal would have given Egypt 3-0 ahead, and perhaps in an unassailable position.

BBC football correspondent Dale Johnson said in a post on X, “Egypt’s disallowed goal was completely against how this tournament has been refereed. You can’t have a light touch where you don’t give fouls for minimal contact and then rule out a goal through VAR for a very minimal hold of the shirt.”

Chess legend, cricketer also criticise

It was not just the football pundits who expressed their dismay. Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov called the FIFA a “corrupt joke” and accused it of displaying favouritism towards stars. In a post on X, he cited Croatia’s 2-1 loss to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal under similar controversy.

“Croatia robbed, now Egypt. But you cannot shame the shameless,” he said.

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The cricketing world was also not untouched. West Indies cricketer Carlos Braithwaite wrote on the social media platform, “How will I explain to the next generation the robbery we’ve witnessed live in this era?”

Egypt escalates issue

Egyptian Sports Minister Gohar Nabil said his country had been subjected to “clear refereeing injustice,” claiming that the refereeing decisions saw Egypt’s exit from the tournament, said local media reports.

The Egyptian Football Association escalated the dispute, the reports added, with its president Hany Abo Rida submitting an official complaint to FIFA seeking an investigation into Letexier and other officials who were in charge of the match.

Argentina will play Switzerland in the quarterfinals in Kansas City on July 11.