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England legend blasts VAR, referee after Lionel Messi and Argentina survive Egypt scare
While leading 1-0, Egypt scored through Mostafa Ziki, but after a VAR review, the goal was ruled out for an alleged foul on Lisandra Martinez.
Former England striker Alan Shearer was left fuming after Argentina's sensational 3-2 comeback win over Egypt in their FIFA World Cup Round of 16 showdown. Referee Francois Letexier and VAR were the targets of criticism, with Egypt's head coach also claiming the tournament has been rigged in favour of Lionel Messi and Argentina.
Egypt were leading 2-0 and was 11 minutes away from victory. The Argentine scored three late goals to seal a dramatic win.
But the comeback was also filled with controversy. While leading 1-0, Egypt scored through Mostafa Ziki, but after a VAR review, the goal was ruled out for an alleged foul on Lisandra Martinez near the Moroccan penalty box. Egypt also claimed a late penalty when Mohamed Salah was fouled inside the Argentine box, moments before Argentina's match-winner.
‘I think its utter and complete b*l**cks’
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, an angry Shearer said, "If you're giving that as a foul, you are actually going a 110 yards back and saying that was a foul. We're going to disallow one of the best goals of the tournament."
"I think, and I can say what I want on here. I think its utter and complete b*l**cks."
"The referee didn't give it. It was never enough to say 'Sorry, that is a clear and obvious foul."
Meanwhile, Chelsea legend Joe Cole said, "I think it was a foul, a soft foul. But I think what happened there was a subconscious bias."
"Sub-conscious bias with the bigger teams."
"A subconscious thing where everyone loves Argentina, everyone loves Messi. And they found that tiny little foul in the buildup. In fairness to them, it is a foul according to their laws," he added.
Meanwhile, FIFA Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina has defended the integrity and independence of officials. "Nobody can claim that FIFA Refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA President [Gianni Infantino]. He has always shown his full support for FIFA Team One while trusting us to work with complete independence. Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best," he said.
