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Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has criticised the refereeing decisions in the match between Argentina and Egypt, claiming that the reigning champions were favoured by the VAR system in the dramatic 3-2 victory which secured them qualification for the World Cup quarter-finals.
According to Halsey, the VAR intervention to disallow Egyptian striker Mostafa Zico's second goal was wrong. The goal was disallowed after referee François Letexier, after reviewing the footage on the monitor, awarded a foul on Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez early in the action.
"It was a fantastic goal. VAR was right to review the action, but it was not a clear and obvious error that justified the intervention. In my opinion, the goal should have been allowed," said Halsey.
The Egyptian camp's disputes were not limited to this episode. Egypt also requested a penalty after Mohamed Salah was brought down in the area after a tackle by Julian Alvarez, but the referee decided to let the game continue. In the ensuing counterattack, Enzo Fernandez scored the winning goal for Argentina in extra time.
According to Halsey, this particular episode highlights the lack of a clear standard in the use of VAR.
"If the intervention on Martinez was considered sufficient to disallow a goal, then the same standard should have been applied to Salah. Either VAR should not have intervened in either case, or it should have intervened in both," he stated.
After the match, Egyptian striker Mostafa Zico claimed the match was "rigged" to favor Argentina's qualification. Egypt coach Hossam Hassan also harshly criticized referee François Letexier for the decisions made during the match.
Egypt started the match in impressive fashion, taking the lead through Yasser Ibrahim's goal, while goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir also saved a penalty from Lionel Messi. Mostafa Zico then scored the second goal for the Egyptians, but it was disallowed after a VAR review. In the end, Argentina overturned the result thanks to goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez, winning 3-2 and securing qualification for the quarter-finals.
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