Wednesday, 08 July 2026
Wednesday, 08 July 2026
Egypt's Round of 16 exit to Argentina has united sporting icons, former football coaches and fans in pointing the finger not at either team, but at Fifa. If there was one standout "performer" in the 3-2 contest, social media and sporting icons argued, it was the officiating rather than the football.
Egyptian Football Association president Hany Abo Rida has reportedly lodged an official complaint against French referee François Letexier and his assistants, while social media turned into a digital courtroom.
VAR officials, the referee, FIFA president, and even Lionel Messi were hauled into the dock as Argentina rallied from 2-0 down to snatch a 3-2 victory over Egypt.
Chess legend Garry Kasparov called out what he saw as inconsistent use of VAR.
"Incredible Egyptian goal is disallowed because of a foul far away, then the same situation a few minutes later, and the goal for Argentina not disallowed! No VAR, nothing? Fifa again looks like a corrupt joke, playing favorites for stars," he posted on X.
Jose Mourinho, known for not mincing words, said: "When you play against this Argentina team, being 2-0 up is never enough, because you are not just trying to beat eleven men on the pitch. You are trying to beat the whistle. You are trying to beat the VAR room. You are trying to beat the entire script of the tournament."
Former England star Alan Shearer questioned the apparent inconsistency by reposting a BBC reporter’s post on X.
Russia Today's cheeky post showed the referee saying "Sorry... Messi must be in the final," before stamping it with "VARGENTINA APPROVED". In the same post, Gianni Infantino was superimposed onto Argentina’s flag within the iconic sun emblem.
The Simpsons entered social media with one meme recreating a boxing scene in which Homer Simpson, draped in Argentina’s colours and carrying a Fifa logo, was being hauled to safety while Egypt did all the punching.
One viral meme post-match featured Fifa president cradling a miniature Lionel Messi with the World Cup trophy in his arms after Argentina's victory. (Infantino Argentina’s unofficial 12th man?)
Social media reached its peak when it delivered ‘Fifanic’, using the post of the movie Titanic. Meme templates spoofed the iconic movie poster, replacing Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet with Lionel Messi and Infantino embracing with the caption reading, “A pictorial explanation of what happened.”
One post read: "It wasn't 11 vs 11. It was 11 Egyptians vs 11 Argentines, the referee, and VAR." (We couldn’t agree more)
The memes spiked after Egypt coach Hossam Hassan in his post-match conference criticised the decisions of the match.
"I'm going home and won't be watching any more games from the tournament," Hassan told reporters.
*"What happened to us wasn't fair. We should have had a penalty, a goal was disallowed, and I don't know why it was disallowed."*
A video posted on X showed fans throwing money, accusing FIFA of rigging the match in favour of Argentina and Messi.
One meme said Fifa had introduced a new rule as well: “Punch or slap opponent as hard as you can; if you are Argentinian, or their neighbours, you’ll not get booked by Referees.”
One post even imagined Fifa expanding the 2030 World Cup further with 64 teams before joking that Argentina’s opponents would include the Vatican, Narnia and Disneyland.
