Former England striker Ian Wright has claimed that Argentina’s last-gasp 3-2 World Cup round-of-16 victory over Egypt should have been disallowed due to a foul on Mohamed Salah in the build-up to Enzo Fernandez’s decisive strike.
Speaking on ITV Sport, Wright argued that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) failed to apply the same scrutiny to Argentina’s winner that it had used to overturn an Egyptian goal earlier in the match at the Azteca Stadium.
Egypt had taken a commanding 2-0 lead through Yasser Ibrahim in the 15th minute and Mostafa Ziko in the 67th, but Argentina fought back with goals from Cristian Romero and Lionel Messi before Fernandez netted the winner in stoppage time.
The game was marred by contentious officiating decisions, with Ziko’s 58th-minute effort disallowed after a VAR review determined he had fouled Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez in the buildup.
However, when Salah went down under a challenge from Julian Alvarez in the penalty area moments before Fernandez’s winner, no review was conducted, and play continued.
Wright highlighted the inconsistency, telling ITV: “That’s what’s happening with VAR now—they’re pulling it back. If you’re going to pull it back for Argentina on the edge of the box to disallow a goal, you have to pull it back for this one with Mo Salah. He’s been caught. Whatever we say, it might be minimal, but he’s been caught, and then they go up the other end.”
The former Arsenal forward suggested that the incident warranted a thorough examination by the officials, noting that Salah was clearly impeded in the build-up to what proved to be the match-winning sequence. Argentina now advance to the quarter-finals, while Egypt’s tournament ends in heartbreaking fashion amid renewed debate over VAR’s consistency in applying its interventions during high-stakes knockout matches.
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