This was a fair decision by FIFA: former USMNT player
Former US men's national team defender Jonathan Bornstein discusses FIFA's controversial decision to reverse Balogun's red card suspension, allowing him to play in the decisive World Cup round of 16 match. Bornstein explains why the decision was “correct”, contrasting it with the Norwegian coach's criticism. The United States will face Belgium, first classified.
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The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been a tremendous success, on and off the field. Visiting fans have been amazed by the experience of coming to the United States and enjoying the country's hospitality. Host venues across the country have been widely praised for their exceptional amenities and excellent atmospheres.
But even the most successful tournament is not without controversy. The biggest one, during the early rounds, was Folarin Balogun's red card. The card shown to Balogun in the US men's national team's match against Bosnia and Herzegovina was based on a misapplication of VAR rules. FIFA then postponed his one-match suspension, allowing him to play against Belgium in the round of 16.
European fans, commentators and their football federation were furious. But even they pale in comparison to the accusations leveled by players and coaches of the Egyptian team after their shocking 3-2 loss to Argentina and Lionel Messi on Tuesday afternoon.
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Lionel Messi (10) of Argentina celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt at Atlanta Stadium on July 7, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan spoke to the media after the match and did not hold back in his criticism of the refereeing.
“We haven't seen respect or fair play,” Hassan said. “A penalty was annulled and a second [incident] that should have been reviewed to penalize us was not even reviewed by the VAR. A second goal was notably disallowed, for whatever reason.”
“I want to put it in beautiful words and say, 'Bad luck,' but we have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice,” he continued.
Egypt had a 1-0 lead and appeared to take a 2-0 lead, only for the second goal to be disallowed after a VAR review determined that a foul had occurred about 20 seconds earlier on the other side of the field. Egypt scored again, but the score of 2-0 could have been 3-0, making Argentina's incredible comeback even more unlikely. Then there were several other questionable decisions, including a possible penalty that could have been awarded after a foul on star Mohamed Salah.
“We looked better than the reigning champions, better in everything, but the result was influenced by internal factors on the field and external factors off it,” Hassan also told reporters. “Maybe they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Maybe they wanted Messi to stay in the race.
“In football sometimes there are external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champion received support at all levels.”
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“It seems that there has been pressure from the Argentine team on the referee that has caused this result,” he added. “Life is unfair. The world is unfair. Okay, but why is there no justice in sports? I'm not convinced by this result or the way things turned out in this match.”
Hossam Hassan, coach and coach of Egypt, during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt at Atlanta Stadium on July 7, 2026. (Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Striker Mostafa Ziko said something similar, stating that his Egyptian team was “harsh” by the referee.
“We were very hard for [the referee] today, and everyone saw that. I won't talk about something like this. We were winning 2-0. After 2-0, everything went wrong and worked against us. I don't even know why they disallowed my second goal, I don't see any reason. But we must find a solution so that a second goal does not arrive. “He wanted to reject the third one too, but thank God, God did not grant him success.”
“It was a rigged game,” Ziko said. “It wasn't our fault. That referee… it seems like this match was rigged. We were winning 2-0 and he kept coming at us. Congratulations to Argentina for another World Cup, it seems.”
FIFA is almost certainly happy that Messi and Argentina have made it to the quarterfinals. Messi is arguably still the biggest star on the international stage, and interest and viewership will be greater while he and his team are in the tournament. But that doesn't mean the match was “rigged.” The VAR review to disallow Egypt's second goal seemed out of place, although some of the other controversial decisions were the kind of dubious calls that could go either way.
Argentine Lionel Messi (10) celebrates scoring his second goal during the World Cup round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo)
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However, the most important variable that neither the Egyptian players nor their coach want to acknowledge is that if they had wanted to win, they simply would not have allowed three goals in 25 minutes.
