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The English football legend joins the ranks of critics of the French referee’s decisions
England football legend Alan Shearer has joined the ranks of critics of the refereeing decisions that saw Egypt’s goal disallowed during the 2026 World Cup Round of 16 clash between Egypt and Argentina.
Egypt bowed out of the tournament after losing 2-3 after failing to maintain their lead with a clean sheet amid controversial decisions by French referee Francois Letxer.
Shearer’s comments came in response to a tweet by BBC refereeing pundit Dale Johnson, who said Egypt’s disallowed goal went against the refereeing approach followed throughout the tournament.
Johnson wrote: “The disallowance of Egypt’s goal is completely out of line with the course of matches at this World Cup. You can’t ignore the minor touches throughout the tournament and then the goal was disallowed after the video technology review for a very slight pull on the shirt.”
Shearer responded in support of this opinion, criticizing what he described as an inconsistency in refereeing decisions, saying: “Either both cases count as a violation, or neither count. But we have been told that video technology will not reschedule meetings.”
Either both are violations or neither. But they are not going to do double refereeing as we were told. #hiscrap https://t.co/Up2xj7sXNJ
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) July 7, 2026
Shearer points to Mustafa Zico’s goal being disallowed in Egypt for a foul on Marwan Attia, as well as the assist for Enzo Fernandez’s third goal despite doubts over the Pharaohs’ penalty kick.
Shearer’s comments came after widespread protests from the Egyptian side, as the players and coaching staff protested the equalizer against Argentina, claiming the attack was a foul, while Egypt’s goal was disallowed after the intervention of the video referee after the referee called a foul at the start of the attack.
The refereeing dispute during the match has reopened the door to criticism over intervention standards using video technology to ensure consistency of decisions throughout the tournament amid calls for uniform interpretation of similar cases.
