🚨🇦🇷🇪🇬 Rio Ferdinand: “Football Needs Fairness, Not Different Rules For Different Teams” 🗣️ “I’ve sat here and watched football for many years, both as a player and as a pundit, and what frustrates supporters the most is inconsistency. When Argentina go down under a challenge, the whistle seems to come immediately. The officials are quick to spot the foul, quick to stop play and quick to protect them. But when Egypt are on the receiving end of similar incidents, suddenly the game is allowed to continue and everyone is told to move on. That’s the issue people have tonight. Not the result itself, but the lack of consistency in the decision-making. Then you look at the build-up to Enzo Fernández’s winning goal. Egypt were screaming for a foul, their players were surrounding the referee, and millions watching expected VAR to at least take a proper look at it. Instead, it felt like everyone in the VAR room had gone to sleep. What exactly is VAR there for if not to review the biggest moments in the biggest matches? If that incident happened against Argentina at the other end of the pitch, do you honestly believe it wouldn’t have been checked? I find that very difficult to believe. We’ve seen much softer incidents reviewed throughout this tournament. That’s where the frustration comes from. Fans just want the same standard applied to every team. And let’s talk about the disciplinary side of the game. Argentina seem to get away with an awful lot. There are challenges that would normally bring yellow cards, yet the referee appears reluctant to reach for his pocket. It’s almost as if officials are afraid of making decisions that might upset Argentina. When you look at some of Argentina’s matches in this tournament, there have been several moments where opponents felt hard done by. One incident can be debated, two incidents can be debated, but eventually people start noticing a pattern. Football cannot afford that perception. The integrity of the game depends on supporters believing that every nation is treated equally. Whether you’re Argentina, Egypt, Brazil, France or anyone else, the laws of the game should not change depending on the badge on your shirt. The officials tonight had a responsibility to be fair, balanced and brave. Instead, they have left millions of people questioning why some decisions are given so easily for one side while similar incidents involving the other side are ignored. Football deserves better than that. The players deserve better than that. And the fans certainly deserve better than that.” #ARGEGY