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Shearer, Kasparov lead global fury after Argentina's controversial win over Egypt sparks VAR outrage in Atlanta thriller
From former footballer Alan Shearer to cricket Carlos Brathwaite - global outrage was seen after Argentina's controversial 3-2 World Cup win over Egypt.
Argentina’s extraordinary 3-2 comeback win over Egypt in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 should have been remembered as another Lionel Messi rescue act. Instead, the match has been swallowed by a storm around referee Francois Letexier, VAR intervention and claims that Egypt were denied a historic victory.
Egypt had pushed the defending champions to the brink in Atlanta, taking a 2-0 lead and standing just 11 minutes away from one of the great World Cup upsets. But Argentina struck three times late through Cristian Romero, Messi and Enzo Fernandez to seal a dramatic quarter-final berth. Messi, who had earlier missed a penalty, scored the equaliser before Fernandez headed in the stoppage-time winner.
The comeback, however, was only half the story. Egypt were furious over a second-half goal by Mostafa ZiKo that was ruled out after a VAR check. The review found that Marwan Attia had fouled Lisandro Martinez in the build-up before Egypt broke forward and scored. Egypt also claimed a late penalty after a tug on Hamdy Fathy, with their anger deepening when Argentina went straight down the other end and scored the 92nd-minute winner.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan did not hide his anger after the match, saying the result was not fair and insisting his side should have had a penalty. “A goal was disallowed, and I don’t know why it was disallowed,” he said, adding that he would not watch any more games from the tournament.
Shearer, Carragher and Rob Green question VAR consistency
The controversy quickly moved beyond Egypt’s camp. Former England captain Alan Shearer questioned the consistency of the officiating, writing on X: “Either both are fouls or neither is a foul. But they’re not going to re-referee they told us.” His reaction captured the heart of Egypt’s complaint: VAR went back to punish contact in the build-up to Zico’s disallowed goal, but Egypt felt a similar threshold was not applied to their late penalty appeal.
Former England goalkeeper Rob Green, working as a FOX Sports analyst, was even sharper in his criticism of the VAR intervention. Green said that “someone stepping on someone’s toe” far away from goal was not why VAR was brought into football, arguing that the technology had reached beyond its intended powers after the referee had initially allowed play to continue.
Jamie Carragher also questioned the call, saying that if the same incident had happened “against another team,” the goal would have stood. He added that in the Premier League, LaLiga or Serie A, the goal would likely have survived even after a VAR review.
BBC football correspondent Dale Johnson gave the most technical criticism, saying Egypt’s disallowed goal was “completely against how this tournament has been refereed.” Johnson argued that officials could not allow a light-touch standard for minimal contact throughout the match and then use a marginal shirt pull to erase a goal.
Kasparov and Brathwaite join global reaction
The outrage was not limited to football. Chess legend Garry Kasparov accused FIFA of looking like a “corrupt joke” and “playing favorites for stars” after Egypt’s goal was ruled out while Argentina’s winner survived Egypt’s protests. In another post, he wrote: “Croatia robbed, now Egypt. But you cannot shame the shameless.”
Former West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite also joined the criticism, writing: “How will I explain to the next generation the robbery we’ve witnessed live in this era?” His reaction became one of the strongest cricket voices on the controversy.
Former World Cup VAR official Fernando Guerrero also weighed in, arguing that both the referee and VAR were wrong to disallow Egypt’s goal. He said there was no foul on the Argentine defender and added that, even if there had been contact, the incident should not have been treated as part of the same attacking possession phase because Argentina had time, space and defenders in position before Egypt eventually scored.
The debate has now turned Argentina’s escape into one of the most contentious matches of the tournament. For Argentina, it was another example of their refusal to die in knockout football. For Egypt, it was a night of pride, pain and fury - a performance that nearly shook the World Cup, but ended with their players, coach and a wave of global voices asking whether the same rules had been applied at both ends.
