Things get heated as Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker and Micah Richards discuss Argentina’s controversial 3-2 World Cup win over Egypt on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football.
Alan Shearer furious with host (Image: Netflix)
Alan Shearer was furious that Mostafa Zico’s first goal of Egypt’s match against Argentina was disallowed on Tuesday night, admitting claims that the World Cup was rigged, saying: “No wonder there are so many theories.” The former England star has backed Gary Lineker, who slammed the controversial VAR decision during the match.
The Newcastle United legend appeared on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football with Lineker, Micah Richards and Joe Cole to discuss the Round of 16 fixture in Atlanta. Yasser Ibrahim gave the African nation the lead early in the first half, but Zico thought he doubled the advantage with a stunning goal midway through the second half.
Egypt chased Argentina away deep in their own half and Haysem Hassan ran around the pitch in incredible fashion, taking on two Argentine players and finding Mohamed Salah. Salah then threaded a perfect pass to find Zico in the box and the number 11 slotted past Emi Martinez.
However, the goal was ultimately canceled by VAR due to a foul on Lisandro Martinez before Egypt’s breakaway. The decision was immediately condemned not only by fans watching the game around the world, but also in Egypt, which subsequently lodged a furious protest with FIFA.
Mr Shearer pulled no punches when making his point and clashed with Mr Richards during a heated discussion, at one point appearing to shake his head.
“The reason why so many people are so angry is because just as I don’t think what happened with Salah in the penalty box was a penalty, just as I don’t think pulling his shirt in the penalty box was a penalty, the same logic applies to that free kick that was awarded,” he said.
“So if you’re going to give that away, there’s a big debate about whether you should score one of those…but if you give it away as a foul, you’re actually going to step back 110 yards and say, ‘Sorry, that was a foul. That nullifies one of the best goals of the tournament.’
“That’s what I think and I can say what I want here. I think this is complete nonsense. I really do. No wonder there are so many theories about ‘stink.'”
“We have the top four in the world rankings – England, France, Spain and Argentina. If we win the group, we are guaranteed that we will not be able to play until the semi-finals. There will be interference from the president’s phone call and in that game it will be Argentina’s fault.
“You’d think, ‘No wonder.'” You can’t blame the people who come up with these theories, can you? ”
When Richards suggested it was a foul on Martinez, Shearer fumed: “No, Mika, the referee didn’t allow that. It was never enough to say, ‘Sorry, this is a clear foul.'”
When Richards claimed that the decision was made as soon as it went to VAR, Shearer replied: “Of course it was, but it’s not that far-fetched to say, ‘We’re going to go back another 110 yards, so we’ll rule it out.'” They say it’s complete and utter foul play.
“The referee didn’t give it. So early in the tournament the referee didn’t give those fouls. I gave a foul to (Kylian) Mbappé early in the match and it was a clear penalty.”
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“The referee said to the screen: ‘No, I’m sticking to my decision. I won’t give it.’ Compare that to what was given today. Absolutely disgraceful.”
Lineker opined that the problem was not with VAR personnel, but with the system itself, and called for VAR technology to be scrapped completely. He said: “Alan, I completely agree with you. But the problem is that we can never get consistency from VAR because they change their tune.
“At the beginning of the tournament they weren’t very involved, but then they want to be involved and now they’re more involved, but for this game they probably will be less involved because it stinks a little bit. The problem is not necessarily everyone doing VAR is doing VAR. The problem is VAR itself.”
Lisandro Martinez was called a foul by VAR (Image: Getty Images)
He added: “That’s the question with VAR: ‘Is that enough of a foul?'” Even if they just changed it and said it’s a foul or not, they’re still using this at this point – that must be enough of a turnover.
“So it’s always going to be a nightmare. The only way out of this, as I’ve said a million times, is the appeals system that will eventually be introduced, because we can’t keep going like this.”
Zico then managed to score Egypt’s second goal, but Argentina eventually won 3-2 thanks to a late fightback. They will play Switzerland in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Sunday, July 12 in Kansas City.
Meanwhile, Egypt immediately lodged a complaint with FIFA over the dramatic turn of events. It is claimed that the state is demanding an explanation of the authorities’ decisions, as well as an investigation into the rulings, which are considered controversial.
They also formally requested that the French team that oversaw the defeat, including referee François Letexier, withdraw from the remainder of the tournament.
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