"He complimented Messi.".. Egyptian referee Amin Omar is at a crossroad

The praise turned into an argument.

Egyptian referee Amin Omar has gone from being the subject of praise to being the focus of widespread controversy after controversial decisions in the 2-0 Argentina-Austria 2026 World Cup match that prompted Austria’s coaching staff and fans to question his impartiality towards star player Lionel Messi.

Austria coach Ralf Rangnick accused the Egyptian referee of overlooking the flagrant foul on Javier Chalager in the attack that led to Messi’s first goal, saying:

A flagrant foul on an Austrian player leads to Argentina’s goal. VAR, what are you doing? This is pure corruption. pic.twitter.com/RS1sV2E4WO

— Pocomaster (@pocomaster) June 22, 2026

Criticism escalated after Omar ignored a flagrant foul on defender Konrad Leimer, who was headed in by Lautaro Martinez. The referee even shouted at the Bayern Munich player not to object in a scene that angered the Austrian fans.

It is not the first time Messi has raised a refereeing controversy at the tournament, with the Algerian federation previously protesting the Argentine’s sending-off for a brutal tackle on defender Issa Mandi before he scored a hat-trick in the same game.

These events cast a shadow over the performance of the Egyptian referee, who was widely praised after his professional management of the South Korea-Czech Republic match, but his controversial decisions against Argentina have now put him under the FIFA microscope.

I was going to say it was Laimer’s unforgivable sin that he kicked Lautaro’s ankle but it almost happened 😭😭😭 https://t.co/S7sFBThyMv

— Clement TrashTalk (@ClementH9) June 22, 2026

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