England have been sent a stark warning about World Cup referees allegedly favouring Argentina, following complaints from Switzerland after their quarter-final defeat. The Three Lions face the reigning champions in the semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday night, with a place in the final at stake.
Switzerland's anger over officiating
Switzerland lost 3-1 to Argentina after extra time, but the match was marred by controversy. Striker Breel Embolo was sent off in the second half after a VAR intervention. Referee Joao Pedro Silva Pinheiro initially booked Argentina's Leandro Paredes for a foul on Embolo, but under the new 'mistaken identity' rule, replays showed no contact. The yellow card was transferred from Paredes to Embolo for simulation, leading to a second yellow card and a red.
Switzerland boss Mura Yakin called the rule 'unacceptable'. Former Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji was more scathing, saying: 'When you have the referee against you, it becomes difficult. Every little thing was called against us. Every dive and every foul by the Argentinians went unpunished. I don’t usually say anything against the officials, but I’ve never experienced such a one-sided game as today.'
Previous accusations of favouritism
This is not the first time Argentina have been accused of receiving preferential treatment. In the round of 16 against Egypt, a goal that would have put Egypt 2-0 up was ruled out by VAR for a foul on Lisandro Martinez early in the move. Egypt later took the lead through Mostafa Zico, but three late goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi, and Enzo Fernandez saw Argentina complete a 3-2 comeback. There were also calls for an Egypt penalty in the build-up to the injury-time winner.
Additionally, in the quarter-final, Argentina's Lautaro Martinez escaped a second yellow card for jumping a barrier while celebrating his extra-time goal, which fans pointed out as a potential breach of rules.
England's hopes and warnings
England reached the semi-finals with a 2-1 extra-time win over Norway. They will hope to avoid similar officiating controversies as they aim to reach the final for the first time since 1966. Akanji's warning serves as a chilling reminder: 'As soon as the game was over, I thought: I’m so proud of our team. What we’ve achieved throughout the entire tournament, and especially today… We played against the world champions, and they didn’t stand a chance. I can’t recall a single scoring opportunity from open play where we were lucky. If the game had continued 11 against 11, it would have likely gone in our favour.'
