Egypt's national team bid farewell to the 2026 World Cup in the round of 16, after a thrilling 3-2 loss to Argentina in a match that held everyone's breath until the final moments.

But the final whistle did not put an end to the controversy, as refereeing decisions, especially VAR interventions, became a focal point of debate among experts and media, with accusations that they played a decisive role in eliminating the Pharaohs.

The Egyptian team's adventure in the tournament ended with a dramatic loss to Argentina, yet the refereeing controversy overshadowed the result, as the match featured several contentious decisions that sparked widespread objections in sports circles.

In this context, former Moroccan referee Abdelali Naciri criticized the performance of VAR during the match, stating in an interview with "africafoot" that the VAR interventions were unfair to the Egyptian national team.

Naciri said: "In my opinion, the VAR was harsher on Egypt than the on-field referee. It intervened in situations it deemed worthy of review, while ignoring other cases where it should have intervened."

The former Moroccan referee expressed his regret over how the video technology was used during the match, considering it lacked consistency in applying review standards, which directly impacted the flow of the game.

He added that the Egyptian national team did not deserve to exit this way, noting that the Pharaohs played one of their best matches in the tournament and deserved a better result, had it not been for some refereeing decisions that, in his view, affected the course of the match.

The match witnessed several controversial refereeing incidents, most notably a disallowed goal for Egypt after a VAR review, as well as calls for fouls in favor of the Pharaohs that were not heeded by the officiating crew, sparking a wave of debate among analysts and former players and opening the door to widespread criticism in international media.