Generally speaking, when referees become a bit too visible, regardless of the sport, it is not a good thing.
Frankly, it feels like Egypt were cheated of a legitimate goal by the referee, François Letexier of France. To take back a goal long after the supposed infraction felt like he had made the decision that he did not like the end result, which was an Egyptian goal. And so, he simply took it away.
After all, if it was such a bad foul, why not call it right away? Why not stop the play dead right there and give Argentina the ball? Why wait for the play to continue, for Egypt to develop an attack which wound up as a goal?
To me, Argentina got away with something. That should have put them down, 2-0. Later, Egypt scored again to make it 2-0 Egypt. But I suspect that if things had continued the way that they had, Egypt by rights should have been up 3-0. And that changes the whole complexion of the game.
Instead, a goal was taken away from them. Argentina got a lifeline.
Now to their credit, Argentina capitalized. They scored those three goals towards the end, and they won, 3-2. They are champs for a reason.
However, they got an assist - at least an assist - by the referee in this one. It felt like there might have been a motivating factor. Namely, that Argentina is one of the favorite, one of the high-profile teams. And maybe FIFA was not so keen on seeing yet another favorite, high-profile team sure to generate a lot of television ratings get booted out of the tournament. Already, we have seen Germany, Netherlands, and Brazil all get bounced. Also, all three host nations had been taken out of the tournament. In short, a lot of iconic teams which would generate tickets sales and increase television ratings and merchandise revenue had already been bounced. Now Argentina, who struggled against Cape Verde and were very close to the brink in this one, looked like they were also on their way out.
Can't have that.
Then the ref stepped in. We saw entirely too much of the refs in this game. Again, when a ref is that visible, has that much of an impact on the game, it feels like it takes away from the game.
Here's what really bothers me. If that infraction, that penalty which the referee called, and was so serious that he took away a goal, had actually been that serious, why not call it right away? Why let the play continue at all? I got the feeling that he would have allowed play to continue still if, say, an Argentinian defender had intercepted the ball and given Argentina possession. But when play resulted in an Egyptian goal that stunned the pro-Argentinian crowd and began to send shockwaves about this shocking result, suddenly a foul that had taken place on the other end of the field was called long after it had occurred.
Sorry, but that just feels wrong. It feels like interference when the result is not favorable.
Let's be frank: it's not just this game. It would be bad if even one game left a bad taste in your mouth based on a bad decision or a missed call by a ref. But it feels like there have been a number of them in this tournament. And yeah, they have had a pretty big impact. The red card against American star Folarin Balogun should not have happened. Granted, that is part of the game sometimes, and I felt that Trump getting involved at all was ridiculous. Yet, it was a serious mistake by the refs, one that could easily have had an impact on that game and the following one for Team USA. Then, the refereeing for the France-Paraguay game was, frankly, a joke. Paraguay got away with far too much, mugging French players with their elbows and cheap shots time and time again. Ultimately, France won, but it could have actually helped get Paraguay through under slightly different circumstances. Then there were controversies with the England-Mexico game the other day, as well. Thomas Tuchel, the England head coach, said after the game that the referring in this tournament simply has not been good enough. He went on to suggest that a bad decision by a ref could send a team away in a moment.
Truth be told, it feels like he has a point.
Now, I am not sure that this was the case with Egypt. Taking Egypt's second goal away did not instantly get Egypt out of the tournament. After all, it should have been 2-0. Moments later, Egypt got another goal, and that should have made it 3-0. But they were playing Argentina. Not my favorite team, but we all know that Argentina is dangerous. They can come alive at any moment. So maybe Argentina comes back from what should have been a 3-0 lead, and maybe they don't. One way or another, though. we should have found out. Instead, what sure felt like a legitimate goal was taken away, and so we will never know. Fans of Egypt have every right to be angry and to feel like they were cheated, because frankly, they were cheated.
It is a tough enough challenge for Egypt to have to face the defending world champions. Add to that a clearly pro-Argentinian crowd, to the point where one of the commentators referred to it only half-jokingly as Buenos Aires North, and it can be daunting. But on top of all of that, when you add the sinking feeling that the referees are against you, as well, it surely had to feel impossible. Egypt had badly outplayed Argentina throughout the game, yet Argentina's first goal pulled them to within one. The stadium exploded, and there was a sense that Argentina would soon tie it. At least tie it with another goal, if not win it with two. It was an air of inevitability that need not have been the case. I truly believe that the result might have been different had that earlier Egyptian goal been allowed to stand, and if the Egyptian players and coaches did not have a sense that their cause was being deliberately undermined - even actively sabotaged - by clearly partisan refereeing. Again, Argentina are world champions and hardly need that kind of assistance from the refs. They are tough enough to beat without it. But when they get that kind of assistance from the refs, it becomes almost mission impossible for anyone. Then the ref penalized Egyptian players and coaches for beginning to show their frustration, but had largely given Argentinians showing frustration earlier in the game a free pass. How convenient.
All of that stunk. The focus in the end seemed to be about Argentina's brilliant comeback, and how great and composed Messi was during that comeback. How now, Argentina remains alive to continue with the chance to defend their title.
However, all I could remember from the game was how it felt deliberately altered by the refs in Argentina's favor. They ruled against Egypt when it seemed that Argentina was lifeless and could not get it going, and then ruled against Egypt when, at long last, Argentina came roaring back to life just in the nick of time. Watching games like that make me just a little suspicious about how fair these FIFA games actually are. If there is not something else going on behind the scenes which helps to determine the outcome of these games. In short, it stunk to high hell. Without exaggerating, I now feel that Argentina's presence in the tournament is marred, that they should be regarded with an asterisk. The true MVP for Argentina in this game was not Messi, but the refs. And that should not be the case.
Some of the commentators were suggesting that this game will be remembered forever as a classic. To me, it will be remembered instead as a game when the refereeing proved to have far too much of an impact on the final result.
Shameful.
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