Lionel Messi responds to 'VARgentina' accusations of referee favouritism

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16 July 2026

Argentina have been accused by some of getting the rub of the green from officials during the World Cup

Lionel Messi

has hit back at accusations of referee favouritism following

Argentina

’s 2-1 win over

England

in the 2026

World Cup

semi-finals.

Argentina staged a miraculous late comeback to seal their place in a second successive

final on Wednesday night with goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez, cancelling out Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute opener.

In an ill-tempered affair in Atlanta, referee Ismail Elfath was initially reluctant to hand out yellow cards, much to the annoyance of the

bench.

Argentina have been accused of receiving favourable refereeing decisions throughout the

, with Egypt filing a complaint to

FIFA

after their 3-2 defeat to Lionel Scaloni’s side in the last-16, and England’s frustrations boiled over after Elliot Anderson was booked for a foul in the 37th-minute.

Switzerland also described the refereeing decisions in their quarter-final defeat to

as ‘one-sided’ and ‘baffling’, but after the game against

, Messi insisted that La Albiceleste had not benefited from favouritism.

“Let people keep enjoying it,” Messi said.

“What this group has achieved is incredible – another final, we’ve come back to be world champions, we’re the best in the world after these four years, whether people like it or not, and no matter what they say.

“This proves that what we did wasn’t by chance and that nobody gave us anything. Reaching two

finals is something few achieve, and this group did it.

“This group doesn’t surprise me. I know, and we knew what we were capable of. People out there had doubts, but when this group comes together and is united, it finds what it doesn’t have to give its all.”

England v Argentina, a semi-final steeped in history for Buenos Aires

OffsAIde

Jude Bellingham clarifies Lionel Messi confrontation in England’s World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina

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Lionel Messi Gets 8.5/10 | Argentine Players Rated After They Beat England To Qualify For The FIFA World Cup 2026 Final

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The Lionel Messi superpower that sunk England and sent Argentina to another World Cup final

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