Asad_Jeewa

#FreePalestine

[Shaiel Ben-Ephraim @academic_la]

There is no conclusive proof. But the circumstantial evidence that there is pro-Argentina bias in FIFA affecting the World Cup:

1) In the group stage opener against Algeria, Messi caught Aïssa Mandi with a studs-up challenge on the Achilles and escaped any card. FIFA later admitted the VAR officials got it wrong and sanctioned them.

2) The inconsistency became undeniable when the United States' Folarin Balogun was sent off in the Round of 32 for a near-identical foot-on-ankle challenge on Bosnia's Tarik Muharemović. Pundits directly compared the red card to Messi's uncarded foul on Mandi.

3) In the 2026 Round of 32 against Cape Verde, referee Drew Fischer did not enforce the tournament's new rule requiring an injured player to remain off the pitch after treatment. He waited for Argentina's Nicolás Tagliafico to return before allowing a Cape Verde corner. Several uncalled fouls in that game also went Argentina's way.

4) Today against Egypt, with Egypt leading 1-0, Mostafa Ziko finished off a long breakaway to make it 2-0. VAR sent Letexier to the monitor and the goal was disallowed for a Marwan Attia shirt-pull on Lisandro Martínez that occurred roughly 20 seconds earlier and nearly the full length of the pitch from goal.

5) Neutral officiating experts, not just Egyptian fans, called the decision wrong. Former FIFA referee Mark Clattenburg said he did not believe it was a foul and did not believe VAR should have intervened at all, adding that the call was inconsistent with the physical contact referees had allowed all tournament.

6) The winning sequence produced a second grievance. In the buildup to Enzo Fernández's stoppage-time winner, Egypt appealed for a penalty on a Salah challenge and for an Alexis Mac Allister shirt-pull, and VAR checked neither. Hassan cited the unreviewed Mac Allister pull directly in his post-match remarks.

7) The 2026 grievances land on top of a 2022 record In Qatar, Argentina were awarded five penalties, the most ever by a team in a single World Cup edition, with Messi taking all five. That same tournament, Messi handled the ball against the Netherlands in the quarterfinal and escaped a yellow card.

8) FIFA has appointed an all-Argentine crew, led by Facundo Tello, for Thursday's France–Morocco quarterfinal, the tournament's first all-same-country panel.

9) Comments attributed to Infantino after an Argentina match were widely discussed as suggesting bias toward Argentina before he later clarified them, and a deep Messi run drives far more global viewership and revenue than one without him. This establishes incentive.

FIFA cannot be trusted. Egypt was robbed. Argentina are coasting to another title under FIFA protection.

[Franklin Leonard @franklinleonard]

The US can still advance to the quarterfinals if Gianni Infantino has the courage.

[Kevin Schofield @KevinASchofield]

“Today I feel corrupt”

[Asad_Jeewa @Asad_133]

😂

[Daniel Austin @_Dan_Austin]

Just to be clear, then. FIFA:

1) can't possibly intervene when Iran are forced to move, a referee is denied a visa, or fans are barred from the USA

2) can absolutely intervene when a decision goes against the USA that Donald Trump doesn't like

Smashing. All know where we stand

[James Benge @jamesbenge]

A scandalous decision, FIFA placing its thumb on the scales of the tournament without even feeling compelled to offer a fig leaf of justification. Borderline red cards happen all the time and plenty of teams with more at stake than the USMNT have to just deal with it.

[OptaJoe @OptaJoe]

0 - Today against France, Paraguay didn't pick up a single card in a FIFA World Cup match for the first time since 1998 against Nigeria.

Gentlemanly.

[fan @NoodleHairCR7]

ALGERIA
AUSTRIA
JORDAN
CAPE VERDE
EGYPT

BRO WHAT TOURNAMENT IS ARGENTINA PLAYING??? 😭😭😭😭

[Mercato Plein @MercatoPlein]

🚨🇮🇹 AUCUN BUT ENCAISSÉ PAR L'ITALIE SUR CE MONDIAL ! 👏🏻

Forteresse. 🧱💪🏻

#usabos

[Univers Tennis 🎾 @UniversTennis]

MAIS COMMENT EST-CE POSSIBLE DE PERDRE CE MATCH EN TROIS SETS ??? 😱

📸 @beinsports_FR

[Football Tweet ⚽ @Footballtweet]

👏🇦🇺 Fair play to Lucas Herrington for having the courage to step up and take that penalty. He deserves credit for that.

He missed, but he willingly put himself in the firing line. He accepted the pressure when plenty of others have hidden.

But here's the bigger question: how is an 18-year-old centre-back taking a penalty in a World Cup shootout for Australia?

Where were the senior players? Where were the experienced heads meant to carry that responsibility?

[Mod @CFCMods]

If we’re talking about trophies it’s Michael Olise but if we’re talking about playmaking, dribbling, passing, chance creation, goals, assists, it’s still Olise

[Polymarket Sports @PolymarketSport]

🚨BREAKING: Senegal did NOT walk off the field after conceding a penalty in extra time today.

[• @Alhamdhulillaah]

Morocco team recited Sūrah al-Fatiha and made dua before their penalty shootout against The Netherlands

[Raghav @raghavv_01]

As much as we love upsets and underdog stories, it's good that brazil won. When too many underogs win, Roland Garros 2026 happens.

[Vincent Barnes @VincentBarnes60]

It was a KO game.@BafanaBafana managed just 1 shot on target.They were content to knock the ball around at the back when the forwards needed the ball. In KO football,you have to take risks.Rather lose giving everything than look back with regrets over chances never taken.

[Maher Mezahi @MezahiMaher]

A damning statistic for South Africa:

350/466 (75%) of their passes were made in their own half, compared to 129/298 (43%) for Canada

A lot of that was to lure Canada to commit players forward and press high, but it ended in Bafana rarely having the ball in attacking positions

[Zwelinzima Vavi @Zwelinzima1]

It was not to be.

We had a genuine chance to reach the next round, but we lacked that cutting edge in attack. We created opportunities, but there was just no firepower upfront to finish them off.

Our defence, however, was simply outstanding. They fought with courage, discipline and determination until the very end.

Having said all that, we have made history. Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine that we would qualify for this tournament—let alone advance beyond the group stage. This team has given South Africans a reason to be proud.

Congratulations to Hugo Broos, Captain Ronwen Williams, and the entire Bafana Bafana squad. You have exceeded expectations, united the nation, and reminded us what is possible through hard work, belief and teamwork.

The future is bright. We are proud of you!

[football jersey guy (temp) @Hlubi_Stone]

4 games, 4 games at a World Cup & not once did Hugo Broos didn’t use allocated 5 subs

[Bd@irB@ll @Bd_irB_ll]

South Africa did a lot right but they were never incisive, never went for the jugular, they paid for it