Jack Staplehurst

Egypt lost 3–2 to Argentina after a series of contentious refereeing decisions, including a VAR intervention that disallowed Mostka Ziko’s goal and a late yellow card issued to coach Hossam Hassan after he made FIFA’s anti‑racism gesture toward the officials. The ignored gesture, the reversed goal, and Argentina’s comeback through Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez sparked anger among Egypt’s players, staff, and supporters, with accusations of inconsistency and bias in officiating. Egyptian analyst Ahmad Yousef criticised the VAR decision as minimal and overly delayed, fuelling widespread claims the match unfairly favoured Argentina.