Messi and Argentina face favoritism claims as FIFA confirms all-Argentine officiating crew for France-Morocco

Lionel Messi delivered another moment of magic as Argentina overturned a two-goal deficit to beat Egypt 3-2 and reach the World Cup quarterfinals, but the victory has been overshadowed by accusations of favoritism from the Egyptian camp. Argentina were dead and buried with less than 15 minutes left in the last-16 tie, trailing 2-0 and with Messi having missed a first-half penalty. No team in World Cup history had ever won from such a position at that stage of a match. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's record from the spot in World Cup finals now stands at 50% – four scored, four missed – but he shook off that disappointment to ignite a stunning comeback. Messi scored the equalizer in a frantic rally, becoming the first player ever to find the net in six consecutive World Cup matches. Egypt were left furious after a key decision early in the second half. Zico thought he had put the Pharaohs further ahead with a clinical breakaway finish, only for the goal to be disallowed because of a foul on Lisandro Martinez at the start of the move. The call was one of the most contentious of the tournament. Egypt manager Hossam Hassan did not hold back in his post-match comments. “There have been a lot of things to be questioned on and off the pitch,” he said. “Negative aspects all around. It's just about credibility, lack of credibility with how things unfolded. Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running. The world champion received support at every level. There seem to be pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome. We haven't seen respect or fair play. A penalty for us was ruled out, it was not even checked by the VAR and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed.” Argentina's late winner, scored by Enzo Fernandez, also sparked controversy. Egypt claimed Mohamed Salah had been fouled in the penalty area moments earlier, but the VAR did not intervene. sports media's football issues correspondent Dale Johnson explained that because Salah was inside the box, the threshold for a penalty is higher than for a foul outside the area, so the goal stood. The trend of Argentina receiving favorable refereeing decisions has become a talking point. They have been awarded eight penalties in their last 12 World Cup matches, five of them in this tournament alone – both records. That narrative gained further fuel when FIFA announced that Argentine referee Facundo Tello would officiate France's quarterfinal against Morocco. France will face an all-Argentine officiating crew, a move widely criticized on social media as benefiting the South Americans. The irony, of course, is that France's own Francois Letexier was the referee who allowed Argentina's winner to stand against Egypt.