England go into the World Cup semi-finals against an Argentina side who are accused of being treated favourably by FIFA.
There is no concrete evidence for that, only a pervasive feeling among the teams who have faced them so far. Algeria, Austria, Egypt, and Switzerland have all complained about the refereeing – some of them on an official basis – after facing the 2022 world champions. And this is more than just a small gripe about a tight offside call.
With this in mind, Daily Mail Sport has put together a list of every questionable incident so far. Are England at a disadvantage before even setting foot on the pitch?
1) Lionel Messi escapes red card
Lionel Messi arguably should have been punished for a stamp in Argentina’s first group match against Algeria – but he escaped a card entirely.
Messi, who scored a hat-trick in the match, caught Algeria captain Aissa Mandi on his right calf and Achilles tendon with his studs in a challenge after his first goal.
Algeria were given a free-kick by the referee but the incident was not even reviewed by VAR officials.
It should be noted that Algeria’s players did not react particularly strongly to the tackle and that the referee, Szymon Marciniak, is hugely experienced, having taken charge of the 2022 World Cup final.
Lionel Messi avoided a red card for an apparent stamp during Argentina’s first game vs Algeria
But Algeria lodged a formal complaint with FIFA over the officiating, also alleging that Alexis Mac Allister elbowed Ibrahim Maza in the face.
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey told The Sun: ‘I think Messi was a very, very lucky player because that stamp endangered the player’s safety.’
United States striker Folarin Balogun was sent off for an almost identical offence in the last 32 against Bosnia & Herzegovina – though of course, his ban was later suspended…
2) Alexis Mac Allister ‘foul’ goes unchecked
Austria manager Ralf Rangnick was unhappy with officials after Alexis Mac Allister’s challenge on Xaver Schlager went unchecked before Lionel Messi’s opening goal.
Messi scored both goals in the second group stage game but Rangnick felt he was fortunate to even have the spot-kick.
‘For the first goal, I would’ve asked the fourth official to do what he did before the penalty kick, he should have looked and he would’ve seen what everyone saw, a foul on (Xaver) Schlager,’ said Rangnick. ‘It was annoying.’
3) Argentina given favourable run
This one is indisputable, though it also applies to France, Spain, and England.
In December, FIFA tweaked the World Cup draw to ensure that the top-four-ranked nations would be drawn into separate quarters of the tournament.
World Cup groups are always seeded, but that is typically where the advantage ends. Not so this time.
It meant that as long as they won their groups, they would not meet each other until the semi-finals. The strongest nations were shamelessly put on course to avoid each other. That’s exactly what has happened.
Argentina have played Cape Verde (ranked 67th in the world), Egypt (ranked 29th), and Switzerland (ranked 19th) to reach the semi-finals.
Argentina have had a favourable run to the semi-final and are yet to meet a big contender
4) Egypt accuse FIFA of rigging their match against Argentina
Egypt reacted explosively after a string of critical decisions went against them in their last-16 match against Argentina.
First, forward Mostafa Ziko had a goal ruled out after a VAR review because of an apparent foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martinez. That foul had occurred 18 seconds before at the other end of the pitch. Attia definitely caught Martinez – the debate is over whether not giving anything was a clear and obvious error.
What Egypt were more furious about is the build-up to Argentina’s winning goal. They contend that they should have had a penalty at the other end moments before.
Mohamed Salah was brought down inside the box after having his foot clipped by Julian Alvarez, but VAR did not even seem to check the incident. Argentina had gone the other end and scored, in stoppage-time no less – but Egypt should admit that their defending was shoddy.
Pharoahs manager Hossam Hassan was apoplectic in his post-match interview. ”We were better, but football is unfair,’ he said.
Egypt manager Hossam Hassan furiously accused FIFA of rigging the World Cup after his side were knocked out by Argentina
‘It could be a matter of marketing, they could want to make a World Cup with the champion of the last World Cup, they want Messi to exist (in the tournament).
‘I thank my players very much. To all the Egyptians, the Arabs, the Africans, you can work hard, it’s what you have to do, but sometimes there are other factors that make you struggle.
‘I wish we could be happier with the loss, but with a severe loss like today I say to them (my players) be upset. We wish we could be happier. Thank God for everything but football is different from what happens in the stadium when we are playing against the world champions.
‘There is support from all directions for the world champions. Support and marketing.’
He added later: ‘Why isn’t there any fairness in sport? In football? I do not want to try to put it nicely here with beautiful wording. We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice.’
Salah was also penalised for a soft foul that would otherwise have seen him charge through on goal for a one-on-one opportunity.
Messi inspired Argentina to a dramatic late comeback as the World Cup holders won 3-2
Meanwhile, as the touchline bust-up at the end of the game broke out following Enzo Fernandez’s winner, Hassan made a gesture that is typically used to draw a referee’s attention to an accusation of racism, holding his hands aloft in an X shape.
It is unclear if Hassan was alleging a specific incident had occurred or whether he was protesting more generally against injustice and the controversial decisions that had gone in favour of Argentina.
Ziko added fuel to the fire after the game by describing Francois Letexier as an ‘unjust’ referee.
‘Referee, not fair,’ he said in tears during his post-match interview. ‘Unjust, unjust referee. An unjust person. An injustice that is so clear.
‘He’s wasting the effort of an entire nation. Since the beginning of the game, we were leaving the game winning 2-0 against Argentina. But the cup has already been given.’
5) Switzerland accuse officials of ‘giving Argentina every decision’
Switzerland were incandescent after their quarter-final defeat by Argentina, accusing the referees of being ‘one-sided’ and ‘against’ them.
The major controversy of the match is the dismissal of Breel Donald Embolo with a second yellow card after diving.
Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes was initially given a yellow card for a foul on Embolo. However, referee Joao Pinheiro was then instructed to review the decision by VAR under a new ‘mistaken identity’ rule.
The review showed that Embolo had initiated the contact with Paredes, leaving his right leg trailing to make contact with the Argentine, before tumbling to his left. The rule allows for a decision to be changed in the event a player has been booked or sent off, but the infringement was actually committed by the opposition.
Embolo was the one at fault for simulation, and so he was shown a second yellow. The striker was in tears after becoming the first player to be caught out by the rule, but it was clearly the right call.
Nevertheless, after the game, multiple figures from the Swiss camp stepped forward to air their grievances.
Switzerland accused referee Joao Pinheiro of giving Argentina ‘every decision’
Granit Xhaka said: ‘If you have to lose because of one decision from the referee, it’s painful but it was his decision. It’s difficult to accept now after a game because the dressing room was very quiet, disappointed. If you are disappointed after the game against this Argentina team, it shows a big mentality.
‘The rules are the rules and we can’t change them but it’s a decision where you kill the game. That’s my opinion. I don’t know what else he can do but just don’t kill the game. We were so good in the game. I believed that at 11 versus 11 we would have had them but it’s very difficult to find the right words after the game.’
Defender Manuel Akanji said: ‘When you have the referee against you, it becomes difficult. Every little thing was called against us. Every dive and every foul by the Argentinians went unpunished. I don’t usually say anything against the officials, but I’ve never experienced such a one-sided game as today.
‘As soon as the game was over, I thought: I’m so proud of our team. What we’ve achieved throughout the entire tournament, and especially today… We played against the world champions, and they didn’t stand a chance.
‘I can’t recall a single scoring opportunity from open play where we were lucky. If the game had continued 11 against 11, it would have likely gone in our favour.’
Team-mate Remo Freuler said: ‘We had high hopes and put in a superb performance until the red card. That, of course, disrupted our flow. I still don’t understand how VAR can intervene in such a situation. FIFA needs to explain that to me.’
Manager Yakin added: ‘After the equaliser, we clearly had the momentum on our side. Unfortunately, this was punished by a refereeing error. The referee shouldn’t have given the Argentinian a yellow card in that situation.
‘There’s no reason for it; the incident wasn’t malicious or rough or anything like that. Then he corrects his own mistake and punishes us. That’s incomprehensible and beyond my comprehension.
‘The decision is baffling to me, there was no reason for it. It’s a shame.’
6) Lautaro Martinez avoids sending-off for risky celebration
Lautaro Martinez scored Argentina’s final goal against Switzerland and subsequently jumped into the crowd – something for which players have been booked in the past.
Martinez was already on a yellow card, so if he had been booked again, it would have ruled him out for the semi-final against England.
However, the decision to book a player for their celebration is at the referee’s discretion.
To get a caution, the player must do one of the following:
- Remove the shirt or covering the head with the shirt
- Climb onto a perimeter fence and/or approach the spectators in a manner which causes safety and/or security issues
- Act in a provocative, derisory or inflammatory way
- Cover the head or face with a mask or other similar item
Lautaro Martinez avoided a booking for jumping into the crowd after scoring his goal against Switzerland on Saturday night
Celebrations must also not be excessive, overly choreogprahed, or cause excessive time-wasting.
Ultimately, it would have been harsh to send Martinez off, but in the wider context of how Argentina have been refereed, some people are upset.
7) No action taken against Argentina for Falkland Islands chants
Argentina will avoid punishment form FIFA despite their repeated chants referring to the Falkland Islands.
FIFA’s rules strictly prohibit political chanting, slogans, and banners inside tournament venues. Haiti were forced to remove a small reference to their independence war on their kits just days before the tournament.
After their comeback victory against Egypt, Argentina’s players belted out a song called Muchachos in the dressing room.
It includes the line ‘for the Malvinas’, Argentina’s name for the South Atlantic islands it invaded in 1982 to trigger a war which claimed the lives of 907 people.
Meanwhile, after beating Switzerland, they sang that they will beat England ‘for the Falklands’ in the semi-finals.
‘For the Malvinas, For Diego, For Leo’s [Messi’s] last one,’ they sang, dancing around.
Argentina have consistently referred to the Falkland Islands during a team song throughout the World Cup
8) FIVE Argentinian referees put in charge of France -Morocco
FIFA raised eyebrows when they announced that the five main officials in charge of France’s quarter-final against Morocco were Argentinian.
The referee, both linesmen, the fourth official, and the VAR were all from the land of Messi.
This was the first time at the 2026 World Cup that all of the main officials at a match were from one nation. Only the assistant VAR (Uruguay) and the support VAR (Nicaragua) were from elsewhere.
‘We have to deal with it. I trust the referees. Our opponent is Morocco, not the referee,’ said France boss Didier Deschamps.
While the match passed without controversy – France were even awarded a penalty early on, subduing any accusations of favouritism towards Morocco, who could have been ‘preferable’ opponents for Argentina later in the tournament -the selection of officials did raise suspicion.
How FIFA have responded to accusations of rigging?
FIFA have been firm in their response to any accusations of rigging.
Chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina, a hugely respected figure in the game, posted on X: ‘Nobody can claim that FIFA Refereeing can be influenced by anyone.
‘Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best.’
In FIFA’s defence, some of the rigging would have had to have been extremely circuitous.
For example, Egypt claim that their match against Argentina was fixed… but they were allowed to lead 2-0 with 11 minutes left on the clock. If FIFA were so determined to engineer the match in Argentina’s favour, would they have really let Lionel Scaloni’s side get to close to being knocked out?
The counter-argument is that, in theory, Egypt could have simply outmanoeuvred any machinations and done extremely well to establish a 2-0 lead.
FIFA have strenuously denied accusations of ‘rigging’ the World Cup in Argentina’s favour
Ultimately, at this stage, this is all speculation. The possibility of ‘rigging’, as teams have alleged, is hard to approve.
But with various decisions taken throughout the tournament, and indeed over the last few years, FIFA have compromised trust in their integrity. Inevitably, people will therefore ask questions.
Just an example. Messi’s Inter Miami were given a wildcard slot for the 2025 Club World Cup for being from a host nation. They were then handed the curtain-raiser match against Al-Ahly.
But many felt that another team, such as reigning MLS Cup champions LA Galaxy, should have been given the slot. Inter Miami had the best record in the regular season, but that’s not what counts in the MLS.
The selection process for the wildcard slot was never explained, and FIFA simply appeared to select Messi’s team with flimsy justification.
Add in the schemes to get the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Balogun around bans and, with that sort of history, it’s no wonder there’s so much scrutiny.
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