Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker both voiced fury over a controversial VAR decision that disallowed a goal for Egypt against Argentina in the 2026 World Cup. The incident occurred during Egypt's 3-2 defeat on Tuesday evening, with Shearer calling the decision 'utter and complete b***cks' and suggesting it fuels conspiracy theories about the tournament being rigged.
Disallowed Goal Sparks Outrage
Egypt had taken a first-half lead through Yasser Ibrahim, and in the second half, Mostafa Ziko thought he had doubled the advantage with a stunning counter-attacking goal. Haissem Hassan sprinted the length of the pitch, beat two Argentina defenders, and fed Mohamed Salah, who delivered a perfect pass for Ziko to finish past Emi Martinez. However, VAR intervened, ruling a foul on Lisandro Martinez by an Egyptian player before the counter-attack began. The referee had not initially given the foul, but after review, the goal was overturned.
The decision was condemned by fans worldwide and led to accusations of corruption. Egypt has since filed a formal complaint with FIFA, and players including Salah criticised the officiating. The African nation is reportedly seeking clarification and has asked for the French officiating team, led by referee Francois Letexier, to be removed from the remainder of the tournament.
Shearer's Heated Reaction
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer did not hold back. He argued that if the same standard were applied, Argentina should have been awarded penalties for earlier incidents. 'The reason why so many people will get angry is because, as much as I don't think the Salah incident in the penalty box was a penalty, as much as I don't think the shirt pull in the box was a penalty, that same logic applies for that free-kick which was given,' Shearer said.
He continued: 'If you're giving that as a foul, you're actually going 110 yards back, and saying, "Sorry that was a foul, we're going to disallow one of the best goals of the tournament." I think it's utter and complete b***cks. No wonder there's so many theories about, "It stinks." You've got the top four in the world rankings — England, France, Spain, Argentina — guaranteed not to meet until the semi-finals if they win their groups. You've got interference from presidents making calls, and then you get that decision because of Argentina. You can't blame people for coming up with these theories.'
When Micah Richards suggested Martinez had indeed been fouled, Shearer fired back: 'No Micah, the referee didn't give it. It was never enough to say that is a clear and obvious foul.' He added that earlier in the tournament, similar incidents were not penalised, citing a Kylian Mbappe penalty claim that was dismissed after a VAR review.
Lineker Calls for VAR Reform
Gary Lineker backed Shearer but placed the blame on the system itself. 'We will never, ever get consistency from VAR because they change their tune,' Lineker said. 'They weren't involved much at the start of the tournament, then they want to get involved, now they're being more involved, now they'll probably be less involved because there'll be a bit of a stink about this one. The problem is not necessarily all of the people doing VAR, the problem is VAR itself.'
Lineker proposed an appeal system as the only solution: 'The only way out of this, as I've said a million times, is an appeal system which will eventually come, because we can't carry on as it is.'
Match Outcome and Fallout
Despite Ziko scoring a second goal later in the match, Argentina mounted a late comeback to win 3-2. Argentina will now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals on 12 July in Kansas City. Egypt's formal complaint to FIFA includes a request for a full investigation into the contentious rulings and the removal of the officiating team.
