Former Argentina striker Claudio López has admitted that the Egyptian national team suffered injustice in some controversial refereeing decisions during their match against Argentina, insisting that the VAR official should have reviewed Mohamed Salah's penalty appeal before Enzo Fernández scored the third goal.
Argentina's winning goal, scored by Enzo Fernández in the 93rd minute, sparked widespread controversy after referee François Letexier of France and the VAR official declined to review the incident.
López, speaking to beIN Sports, commented on the incident: "Salah was impeded, and I believe the referee should have gone to the video technology to check the play."
He added: "The ball was behind Mohamed Salah, and Martínez impeded him — the incident should have been reviewed via VAR."
The match was marked by several contentious refereeing decisions against Egypt that drew widespread global reaction regarding the French officiating team's management of the game.
Former England football star Ian Wright stated that Argentina's third goal should have been disallowed due to an uncalled penalty committed against Mohamed Salah before the move from which the goal originated was completed.
Speaking on ITV Sport, Wright said: "If VAR went back to disallow Egypt's second goal because of an infringement at the start of the move, then the referee was obliged to go to video to review the Mohamed Salah incident," noting that "Salah was obstructed — it may have been a minor contact, but it is ultimately a foul, and a goal for the opposition came from it."
Egypt lost narrowly to Argentina after the latter overturned a two-goal deficit to win 3-2, in a match where the Pharaohs were on the verge of a historic victory but were unable to hold on to their lead until the final whistle.