After Argentina’s 3-2 comeback win over Egypt in the World Cup round of 16 across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, even viewers who had just settled in after a BD Cricket Match could feel how quickly the spotlight moved from football drama to officiating controversy. Egypt head coach Hassan and forward Ziko strongly criticized referee Francois Letexier for several disputed decisions, while large numbers of frustrated fans left angry messages on his social media accounts, eventually leading him to shut them down. In truth, this was not the first controversial refereeing episode of the tournament, and questions over fairness have already started to damage FIFA’s public image.
The Argentina vs Egypt match contained several contentious calls, two of which directly changed the direction of the game. The first came in the 58th minute, when Egypt launched a smooth counterattack and Ziko finished from Salah’s clever central pass. VAR suddenly intervened, and after reviewing the replay, Letexier ruled that a foul had occurred earlier in Egypt’s defensive half, judging that Attia had stepped on Lisandro Martinez’s right foot with his left. As a result, Attia was deemed to have fouled first, and the goal was ruled out.
The second and most explosive decision came in stoppage time. Egypt’s star forward Salah drove into Argentina’s penalty area and appeared to be tripped by Alvarez’s right foot. Under normal circumstances, such a fall would usually lead to a VAR review or at least a pitch-side monitor check. Instead, Letexier waved play on and ruled that there was no foul. While Egypt’s players were still protesting, Argentina broke forward and Enzo scored the decisive goal to make it 3-2.
What made fans even more upset was the post-match statistic. Argentina committed 13 fouls without receiving a single yellow or red card, while Egypt committed 11 fouls and received six yellows and one red. According to FIFA’s official match data, only one of Egypt’s cards came in the first half, when staff member Safwan El-Saghir was booked in the 21st minute. The remaining five yellows and one red all came in stoppage time, with goalkeeper Shoubir, defender Fathi, midfielder Attia, winger Hassan, and coach Hassan each receiving a yellow, while El-Saghir, already booked earlier, was sent off.
When one side walks away clean while the other is buried under cards, it is hardly surprising that Egypt’s entire team lashed out at the referee and FIFA, arguing that the match had not been handled fairly. A similar debate over inconsistent standards also surrounded the round-of-16 match between France and Paraguay. To stop Mbappe, Paraguay relied heavily on physical fouls, including five stamping incidents, three shirt pulls, and two elbowing actions. Under FIFA’s rules, those challenges should have carried at least yellow-card consideration, yet the referee ignored eight of them and only awarded two free kicks without showing a single yellow card.
In the 39th minute, Paraguay’s Matias Galarza knocked Mbappe down during an off-ball defensive run with a motion resembling a knife-hand strike. Referee Ilgiz Tantashev did not react, and VAR offered no intervention. The statistics were again difficult to explain: Paraguay committed 13 fouls without receiving a yellow or red card, while France committed 11 fouls and received three yellows. For many supporters, it was the kind of decision-making that made the whole match feel like a bitter pill to swallow. France coach Didier Deschamps could not hide his frustration afterward, saying the game was unusually difficult, the opponent used every possible method, and it was not the kind of match that could attract fans. He added that he had to send on two of his strongest players late in the game to protect Mbappe because the opponent seemed determined to take him out of the match completely.
Of course, the issue that angered fans most was the early clearance given to United States forward Balogun. In the round-of-32 match between the United States and Bosnia, Balogun stepped on the ankle of Bosnian player Tarik Muharemovic in the 64th minute. After VAR intervened, the referee showed him a straight red card. Under FIFA rules, a red card normally carries an automatic one-match suspension. However, after pressure from the United States side, FIFA announced on July 6 that Balogun had been given a one-match ban under Articles 14 and 66 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. It then added that, under Article 27, the execution of that one-match suspension would be deferred for a one-year probationary period. That meant Balogun was allowed to play against Belgium in the round of 16. It was the first time since 1962 that FIFA had allowed a player who should have been suspended for a World Cup red card to continue playing in the tournament.
This early lifting of the red-card suspension triggered deep anger among fans, who saw it as a blow to FIFA’s own competition rules. The Belgian FA publicly stated that it was deeply shocked by FIFA’s decision on Balogun and said it was studying whether to file an appeal in order to protect the lawful rights of all participating teams and defend the basic principle of fair competition in football. Article 27, cited by FIFA, is an obscure clause concerning the suspended implementation of disciplinary measures. It states that a disciplinary judicial body has the authority to suspend a disciplinary penalty in whole or in part.
Before the latest wave of criticism grew as intense as a BD Cricket Match entering its decisive stretch, Balogun was not the first player to benefit from Article 27. In November 2025, Ronaldo was sent off for elbowing an opponent during Portugal’s World Cup qualifier against Ireland, and FIFA’s disciplinary committee later added a three-match suspension. Under that original outcome, Ronaldo would have missed the first two group-stage matches of the 2026 World Cup. The committee later adjusted the implementation under Article 27: the first match of the ban was served immediately in Portugal’s final qualifier against Armenia that same month, while the remaining two matches were suspended for a one-year probationary period. After that adjustment, Ronaldo was allowed to play normally throughout the World Cup group stage, leaving many fans who followed a BD Cricket Match earlier in the day wondering why football’s biggest stage keeps inviting the same questions about fairness.