The Spanish newspaper "AS" shed light on the refereeing controversy that accompanied the Egypt-Argentina match in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, considering that the Argentine national team's qualification came through a "deadly mixture" combining Lionel Messi's brilliance and video assistant referee (VAR) decisions.
The newspaper said, in a report titled "Messi and VAR.. A Deadly Cocktail", that Messi led Argentina to come back after trailing the Egyptian national team 2-0, confirming that the Tango captain saved his country's team at the decisive moment, but he was not the only topic of discussion after the match.
It added that the refereeing decisions sparked widespread controversy, especially after the Egyptian team's goal was disallowed via VAR, in addition to the Pharaohs' demands for a penalty that preceded Argentina's third goal, noting that all VAR interventions in Argentina's matches during the tournament so far have favored the defending champions.
The newspaper explained that French referee François Letexier, as happened in the Qatar World Cup, was "lenient with decisions against Argentina, and decisive in decisions that favored it", which prompted the Egyptian national team, its technical staff, and the football association to file an official complaint with FIFA objecting to the refereeing.
AS highlights Hossam Hassan's anger
AS also highlighted the anger of Hossam Hassan, the coach of the Egyptian national team, in the final minutes of the match, after receiving a yellow card for his protests, noting that he made a gesture that sparked controversy, while members of his technical staff tried to calm him down and prevent him from repeating it.
The newspaper pointed out that the gesture carried more than one interpretation, as some considered it an expression of his feeling that the Egyptian national team had been "robbed" refereeing-wise, while others saw it as similar to the signal adopted by FIFA to report incidents of discrimination or racism.
AS concluded its report by emphasizing that the match will remain stuck in minds, not only because it kept Messi in the World Cup at the age of 39, but also because it revived the debate over the refereeing decisions that many believe favored the Argentine national team.
