Argentina Coach Breaks Silence on FIFA World Cup ‘Fixing’ Allegations After Egypt Filed Formal Complaint

IN THE FIFA WORLD CUP 2026, Argentina entered the quarter finals after defeating Egypt in the Round-of-16. They came from a 2-0 Egypt lead. Argentina managed to stay alive in the competition after turning the game on their side with the help of Romero and Messi after 77th minute of the game. In the end, Argentina won by 3-2 scoreline but brought many controversies with them too.

After the match, Egypt filed a formal complaint with FIFA after their controversial World Cup exit to Argentina in the Round-of 16 accusing them of “double standards” and also demanded that the referee and the team from the match must be removed. Messi and team were able to stage a comeback from the 2-0 Egypt lead. There were controversies circling around the VAR decision that unfairly ruled out a crucial Egyptian goal. 

Argentina is getting the harsh treatment online, with viral claims on social media of the team receiving a biased treatment and even some users have alleged that the World Cup is “rigged” in favour of the big names like Lionel Messi who could stay in the competition for a bit long.

Head Coach Lionel Scaloni Addresses 'Fixing' Allegations 

Argentina looks forward to taking on Switzerland on Saturday, July 11, 2026, in the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals.  Before the match, Coach Lionel Scaloni broke his silence on the matter, admitting that the criticism has been heard by the players but it doesn’t affect much. He adds up by calling it a ‘staged rebellion’ by people who wish for Argentina to not win consecutive World Cup titles.

“The thing is, we might have a lot more people who don’t want us to win because we won the last one, and well, we take that into account. And yeah, it gets to the players. We use criticism or comments to rebel. To stage a rebellion and make the players play even better,” Scaloni told reporters on Saturday.

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“It’s been a long time, 40 years as you just said, since 1986, right? They were saying we were favored back then, too. So it’s not something new. As far back as I can remember. Argentina has always been one of the teams that stir up the tournament, always. And in a way, as you rightfully pointed out, it’s used to show the players that there are people who don’t want Argentina to win. But that’s normal, just like there will be people who don’t want another national team to win,” said Scaloni.

Scaloni also said that the VAR team is only following the rules that were set before the tournament started.

“I think with VAR and all these things, it's very hard for them to help you. Very hard, very hard. There’s no double interpretation with VAR. Plus, they made it crystal clear to us in that course they gave us before the World Cup started. They showed us all the footage. This, like that. And it’s been followed to the letter,” he added.

What Are The Allegations by Egypt on Argentina?

Egypt alleges VAR favouring Argentina throughout the match. Egypt were set to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament against the defending champions when they went ahead of Argentina early. But according to management, referees made several decisions neglecting their call for foul completely. It includes an intervention that ruled out Mostafa Zico’s goal for a foul on Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez that happened before the build-up of the goal. 

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VAR took a look at the challenge on Martinez. That seemed fair for the officials to look at the matter but moments before Argentina’s stoppage-time winner, there was a potential challenge on Egypt’s Mohamed Salah on which the Egypt federation argued on. They claim that the challenge was enough to award them a penalty before Argentina came up with a match-winner.

Egypt was denied a place in the quarter-finals because of the officials accused by Head coach Hossam Hassan. He also claims that they were “cheated” and suggested that there were “external affairs” that helped Argentina and Lionel Messi win.

This incident has brought up a wave of online accusations against FIFA of favouring Argentina, many calling it “rigged”. Some media outlets pointed out Messi avoiding a red card for a challenge during the match against Algeria. Comparisons with a similar incident involving USA Striker Folarin Balogun, who received a red card and was looking for a match ban. However, the decision was controversially overturned after intervention by President Donald Trump.

A video surfaced online, involving FIFA President Gianni Infantino congratulating Argentina’s players after their match against Cape Verde. Infantino was seen speaking to Argentine media saying that he “suffered with them” during the match before that he remained neutral. Fans interpreted the remarks as evidence of favouritism over Argentina.

[GRT]

(Edited By Harsh Pandey)

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