Messi: we didn't want to leave the World Cup; Romero's goal gave us hope

I’ve grasped the situation: Initially, criticism focused on the disallowed Egyptian goal and the non-awarded penalty. Then, official VAR footage was released confirming those decisions were correct. Next, attention shifted to alleged bias—Argentina received no yellow cards while Egypt got six—but in reality, only one yellow card was shown during the full 90 minutes. Then came a flood of misleading images supposedly “exposing” Argentina, but reviewing the VAR clip shows the contact was on the upper chest—not a clear foul. Critics claim Argentina “got away with everything,” yet Egypt’s own images show numerous incidents—including stamping and throat-grabbing—that also went unpunished. Finally, there’s the claim that VAR reviewed Egypt excessively. The ultimate conclusion drawn is that “multiple VAR reviews = darkness rivaling the 2002 World Cup.” In truth, it was simply a loosely officiated match. Because the threshold was low, Argentina—and South American teams generally—benefited slightly from their more physical style. That’s the only real advantage. Regarding the penalty decision and all three open-play goals: none were questionable. Several key decisions were reviewed by VAR—and yet this match is now branded the “blackest” in history.

Stop bringing up Molina—it wasn’t a face strike at all. What Molina pushed was the opponent’s shoulder; it only looked like a face strike due to the angle. He didn’t even make contact with the face, so no card was warranted. Moreover, Egypt was on the attack—calling a foul there would have unfairly disrupted their offensive momentum and invited accusations of biased refereeing.

Lao Mei’s second goal—a powerful, well-placed strike—was absolutely brilliant! I was totally stunned watching it.

Moreover, professional players are extremely sensitive to facial fouls; if a player is actually struck in the face, they will certainly demand an explanation, and the incident will undoubtedly be repeatedly reviewed during the match.

Why aren’t these cards given to Egypt?