Former Referee: Fouls on Martinez and Salah Were Identical; If One Is Given, So Should the Other

Former Premier League elite referee Mark Halsey believes Argentina benefited from two controversial decisions, helping the reigning world champions secure their spot in the World Cup 2026 quarter-finals.

Egypt had a goal disallowed after a VAR review for a foul on Lisandro Martinez. Later, the “Pharaohs” claimed a penalty should have been awarded for a foul by Alvarez on Salah just before Enzo Fernandez’s winning goal.

Egypt's forward Mostafa Zico sensationally claimed the match was “fixed” for Argentina to advance. Egypt’s head coach, Hossam Hassan, also sharply criticized referee François Letexier.

According to 64-year-old Halsey, VAR official Jérôme Brisard erred by intervening after Zico's second-half goal. Instead of conceding, Argentina was awarded a direct free-kick for a foul on Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez during the build-up.

“There were two major controversial moments in the match. As we know, IFAB protocol requires all goals to be checked,” Halsey stated.

“The second goal, scored by Zico for Egypt, was fantastic. Do we really want goals like that disallowed? They took the play all the way back to the foul on Martinez, which is technically correct because VAR can review from that moment as it's in the same phase of play. But was it enough? Was it a clear and obvious error for VAR to intervene? I would argue no.”

The Egyptians were furious again when they were denied a penalty after Mo Salah, who left Liverpool at the end of last season, went down following contact with Julian Alvarez’s leg. After this incident, Argentina launched a counter-attack that led to Enzo Fernandez’s winning goal in added time. Halsey believes a penalty should have been awarded, especially since Egypt was penalized for a similar foul on Martinez.

The Sun’s refereeing expert added: “This is where, in my opinion, the inconsistency lies.”

“Salah enters the penalty area and is fouled before Argentina goes on the attack and makes it 3-2. If you look at Zico’s goal and the foul on Martinez, if that goal is disallowed for a foul, then the exact same logic should apply to Salah.”

“One could argue both situations are identical, so why didn't VAR intervene in the Salah incident? If they did, they would have to award a penalty to Egypt. In my opinion, VAR shouldn't have intervened in either case, but since they intervened for the foul on Martinez, they should have reviewed the one on Salah as well, and that’s precisely where the inconsistency lies.”