Favouritism or fair play? Argentina's World Cup under scrutiny amid refereeing controversy

Argentina's defence of their World Cup title has come under scrutiny after hard-fought 3-2 victories over Cape Verde and Egypt in the knockout stages.

Following their last-16 defeat, Egypt asked Fifa to remove the match officials from the tournament, alleging bias in favour of Argentina and captain Lionel Messi.

After the match, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said his team had been "treated unfairly" and "suffered injustice".

He also suggested Fifa wanted to keep the defending champions and Messi in the tournament.

Egypt's refereeing complaints

Egypt's frustration stems from a dramatic defeat in which they surrendered a 2-0 lead with 11 minutes remaining before Argentina scored a stoppage-time winner.

The Egyptian Football Association attributed the loss to "serious refereeing mistakes" and "double standards" by French referee François Letexier and his officiating team.

Egypt had a goal disallowed after a video assistant referee (VAR) review.

Mostafa Zico's strike was ruled out after Marwan Attia was penalised for stepping on Lisandro Martinez's foot during the build-up.

Egypt also argued Argentina's winning goal should have been disallowed and that they should have been awarded a penalty instead.

Hamdi Fathy claimed he was held by Alexis Mac Allister, while Mohamed Salah appealed for a penalty after an incident involving Julian Alvarez.

The incidents involving Martinez and Salah both featured foot-on-foot contact.

However, Salah's challenge occurred inside the penalty area, meaning VAR had to determine whether it met the threshold for awarding a penalty.

Argentine officials assigned to France match

Fifa appointed an all-Argentine on-field officiating team for the World Cup quarter-final between France and Morocco, including referee Facundo Tello, both assistant referees, the fourth official, and the reserve official.

It is the first time at the tournament that the entire on-field officiating team has come from the same country.

Tello's previous two appointments featured fourth officials and reserves from Saudi Arabia and Colombia.

Messi red card debate

Earlier in the tournament, Messi was not shown a red card or even booked following a challenge on Algeria captain Aissa Mandi.

Later, United States forward Folarin Balogun was sent off after a VAR review in a similar incident against Bosnia.

The United States reportedly referenced the comparison while appealing Balogun's suspension.

Had Messi been sent off, he would have missed subsequent matches unless FIFA had applied Article 27, as it did in Balogun's case.

Yellow card statistics

Only Gonzalo Montiel is one booking away from suspension for Argentina ahead of the quarter-finals.

England has four players at risk of suspension, including Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice, while Norway has only Antonio Nusa on a yellow card.

Argentina has received one yellow card every 19.7 fouls committed.

Only the Czech Republic (37.0), Norway (24.0), and Tunisia (27.0) have a higher yellow-card-to-foul ratio.

England has received one yellow card every 7.7 fouls despite committing fewer fouls than Argentina.

Infantino and the Club World Cup

The article also highlights Inter Miami's inclusion in the inaugural Club World Cup despite LA Galaxy winning the MLS Cup.

Inter Miami qualified after winning the 2024 MLS Supporters' Shield, allowing Messi to play in the tournament opener against Al Ahly.

Tournament draw

For the 2026 World Cup draw, the top four teams in the FIFA rankings, France, Argentina, Spain, and England, were placed in separate quarters.

As group winners, they could not meet until the semi-finals.

Argentina has defeated Cape Verde (67th), Egypt (29th), and will next face Switzerland (19th) in the quarter-finals.

Spain has already beaten Portugal (5th) and next faces Belgium (9th), while France meets Morocco (7th).

Penalties awarded

Argentina received a record five penalties during their 2022 World Cup-winning campaign.

At the 2026 tournament, they have been awarded three penalties, although Messi missed two against Austria and Egypt.

England and Switzerland have each received two penalties, while Belgium, France and Norway have been awarded one each.