In the English language, there are two meanings for the word "play", it can mean "game", and it can mean "play"..
And in the Egypt and Argentina match yesterday, it was not the football game that we all know in the sense of equality and fairness between two teams facing each other in the green rectangle with parity, regardless of their names or their market value or the big companies contracted advertising with the players of either team, or who plays from them in the Egyptian or American league or the biggest European clubs.. but rather it was a play whose script was previously set, and its end was determined before it began, and it was directed by the French referee who does not deserve to mention his name, and his compatriot the VAR referee, who ignored all the rules supposed to be worked by according to the laws of football, or even the rules of divine and human equality and justice.
And the signs of the "vargentina" play (a linguistic blend between VAR and Argentina to express the refereeing controversy in the match) appeared in the VAR not intervening at all from the beginning of the match until its end in any play in favor of the Egyptian national team: from a foul without the ball against player Emam Ashour in his face, which requires calling the referee; because the law imposes a sending off, or at least a warning to the player in this incident, as the first half also witnessed Mohamed Salah being pushed on the edge of the Argentina penalty area, and Haitham Hassan being subjected to a violent challenge that warrants a warning.. and the referee did not award anything in all these incidents except a free kick in favor of Haitham Hassan!
And in the second half, Mostafa Shobier was subjected to a challenge that warrants a warning, and the referee canceled Egypt's second goal scored by Zico from a pass by Mohamed Salah after the intervention of "vargentina", and its return to play about 20 seconds before the goal was scored in an incident at least 100 yards away from the Argentina goal, on the pretext that player Martinez was subjected to a challenge from Marwan Attia, and I will not comment here on Salah being subjected to a violent challenge that at least deserves a warning, or even a deserved penalty kick for Hamdi Fathi as a result of the pull by player McAllister, but rather I will go directly to the peak of the tragedy in the play when the exact same incident as the cancellation of Egypt's second goal was repeated in Argentina's third goal, and under the same circumstances of the 20 seconds and the 100 yards, when Salah was subjected to a trip and the attack turned into the unjust goal that eliminated Egypt, and sent Argentina to the quarterfinals.. And when Salah went to the referee and requested VAR intervention, the referee immediately signaled to award the goal, and even distributed warnings to Egyptian players Mostafa Shobier and Hamdi Fathi, and sent off Saafan Al-Sagheer the goalkeepers' coach, and warned Hossam Hassan for requesting VAR intervention and protesting the "vargentina" play, and demanding justice and equality and measuring with the same measure and fair play.
And despite the consensus of all analysts, referees, and big players from all over the world on the refereeing injustice that Egypt was subjected to, in addition to the condemnation and mockery of thousands of pages on social media of the "vargentina" play, FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino - who raised the Egyptian flag after the match by an hour before the Switzerland and Colombia match in an incident whose circumstances or occasion I do not know - did not issue anything until this moment, and will not issue anything except words or a statement not worth reading, similar to the statement he issued after the incident of canceling the sending off of the American player in the Wojan, in which he affirmed that FIFA is an independent entity that makes its decisions by itself and is not subject to pressures or interventions.
And I do not know after all this refereeing injustice or the interventions in favor of a certain country or the non-interventions in favor of the same country against player Messi (who plays in the American league), who deserved a direct red card after his violent and harmful challenge against the Algerian player in Argentina's first match in the World Cup, does the World Cup deserve to be followed and watched?! It certainly deserves if it is a game, and it certainly does not deserve if it is a play.
