Did Egypt deserve a penalty? “If you give one, you have to

Egypt missed a historic opportunity at the World Cup on Tuesday evening by losing 3-2 to Argentina, but the Faraons' disappointment was amplified by disputed refereeing decisions. At the heart of the controversy: an intervention in the Argentinian area just before Enzo Fernández's goal which allowed the Albiceleste to regain the advantage.

Twenty-four hours after the match, images show that Omar Marmoush, who entered the game for Egypt, was lightly held in the area by Alexis Mac Allister. A few moments later, Lautaro Martínez served a pass which Enzo Fernández converted with a beautiful header for 3-2. Mac Allister, who did not seem to realize the clash, celebrated this liberating goal, which further fueled the anger of the Egyptians.

Analyst Theo Janssen, guest on the NOS channel, defended the Egyptian reaction. According to him, the referee – identified by the press as François Letexier – had already awarded a penalty in favor of Argentina before the break, a decision considered quite generous. “If you give that moment, then you could also have given this one,” said Janssen, believing that the referee could have awarded the same sanction to the other side. "If you give one, you must also give the other. Or you should have given neither."

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Janssen also commented on another contentious sequence of the match: the cancellation of an Egyptian 0-2. In the action leading to the aborted goal, an Egyptian player steps on the foot of Lisandro Martínez. "You can whistle that foul, but if it happens in midfield, normally you don't whistle," Janssen explained. He points out the use of VAR: going back to the start of the action, the refereeing ends up sanctioning minor faults which, previously, were not necessarily penalized.

These debates underline, once again, the impact of video assistance and the difficulty of standardizing decisions during the highlights of a match. For Egypt, the frustration will remain: the selection came very close to a huge performance on the world stage, but leaves the tournament with a defeat and a feeling of injustice for certain observers and players.

The meeting will remain in the discussions of the World Cup, both for the quality of the suspense on the pitch and for the questions it raises around the interpretation of contacts in the area and the role of VAR.