Lionel Messi might be the World Cup’s overwhelming protagonist, shaping moments and defining games. But a background crew, Gianni Infantino, Donald Trump, enraged managers, referees, and the error-checking mechanism, are putting in heavy shifts as support cast. Add conspiracy theories, corruption and rigging allegations, and the World Cup has the intrigue of a spy movie.
The background score intensified when Egypt manager Hossam Hassan remarked, after Argentina’s controversial 3-2 turnaround, that officials had been pressured to keep Messi in the tournament. “Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running,” Hassan said after the match. “In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions received support at every level.”
He was referring to two incidents that decided the game: Mostafa Zico’s goal scrapped for a foul on Argentina’s Lisandro Martinez at the other end of the pitch, and Alexis Mac Allister pulling Mohammed Salah inside the box before Enzo Fernandez scored the winner.
Going strictly by the book, the VAR’s judgement cannot be argued: under International Football Association Board protocol, VAR checks the attacking phase before every goal, and a “clear and obvious” foul sends the referee to the pitch-side monitor to rule it out.
Whether Marwan Attia’s foul, standing on Martinez’s foot, was clear and obvious is as debatable as the foul on Salah, both soft offences lost in the grey shades of a referee’s perception, not blatant ones. An emotional Hassan, Egypt’s all-time highest goal scorer, said: “Life is unfair. The world is unfair. Okay, but why isn’t there any fairness in sports? I’m not convinced by this outcome and by the way things unfolded in this match.” He paused and said: “The referee is unfair, God is sufficient for me and the best disposer of affairs. He’s wasting the effort of an entire nation. The cup is directed towards Argentina.”