Former FIFA referee and ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett has cast a strong verdict over claims Argentina’s 3-2 victory over Egypt at the 2026 World Cup was ‘fixed’.

Argentina benefitted from several controversial refereeing decisions in their last 16 tie at the Atlanta Stadium. Egypt led 2-0 midway through the second half, and were on the cusp of one of the most famous results in World Cup history, before conceding three times before the end of normal time as Lionel Messi and co. completed a remarkable comeback.

Egypt had a goal controversially disallowed in the 58th minute following a VAR review after Lisandro Martinez was fouled at the opposite end of the pitch. The Pharaohs were also convinced they should have been awarded a penalty for an alleged foul on Mohamed Salah moments before Enzo Fernandez scored Argentina’s winning goal.

Mostafa Ziko, scorer of Egypt’s second goal, claimed the tournament was “rigged” in favour of Argentina during an explosive post-match interview. Hossam Hassan, Egypt’s head coach, added: “They want Argentina and Messi to stay in the World Cup for marketing.”

Claims the fixture was ‘rigged’ to benefit the reigning world champions have been shut down by Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s Chief Refereeing Officer, who has explained in detail why the game’s most controversial decisions were made.

Keith Hackett’s Strong Verdict on ‘Fixed’ Claims

Reuters/Nathan Ray Seebeck

Meanwhile, ex-FIFA ref Hackett has cast an equally strong verdict over the ‘fixed’ claims in a video for Football Insider.

“One area that I would dispute very strongly are claims that games are being fixed at World Cup level or any level of the game,” he said.

“The laws of the game are subjective. I can get 100 referees in a room looking at a potential incident and not necessarily getting 100 referees to agree with the outcome. That’s the game of football. Those are the laws of the game.”

Hackett continued: “I have no doubt Collina, like myself when I was boss of the PGMOL, worked hard in training and educating referees to achieve a degree of consistency in the application of the law.

“The comments I’ve made about the Martinez incident… as a referee, I wouldn’t want a goal of that quality ruled out. I wouldn’t want VAR to come in. But once VAR has gone through that forensic check, we see a really good goal ruled out.

“In the same way, in the same game, we have the alleged foul on [Mohamed] Salah. I’ve given my view but where the inconsistency comes in is why didn’t VAR, in checking that, which he’s allowed to do because a goal has been scored, check that phase of play?

“Why didn’t he bring the referee to the screen to make a decision?

“And when referees go the screen, I want them to stick with what they believe to be correct. Not influenced by the VAR.”

Hackett concluded:

“But as the former boss of the PGMOL, I can tell you that we put a lot of systems in place to ensure the integrity of our group of referees and ensure that they are aiming all the time for consistency.”

Argentina will now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals this weekend before a potential return to the Atalanta Stadium, where England or Norway will be the opponents.

Former England Test match captain Ben Stokes has taken to social media to react to the news that the International Cricket Council have taken action over the manner in which he resigned from the role.

The 35-year-old called time on his international career in a truly unique manner during the third and final Test with New Zealand last month. With the help of his management team, Stokes made the news public while he was out in the middle, coming towards the end of a marathon spell of bowling.

The Durham man had the ball in his hand when a statement was released at 3:25pm confirming that he would be walking away from international cricket. As the news began to spread around Trent Bridge, the crowd rose to their feet to acknowledge Stokes, willing him to take a wicket.

Ben Stokes’ Retirement Announcement Caused A Stir

As it turned out, he did just that with his very next ball. The legendary all-rounder found the edge of Zak Foulkes’ bat, allowing Harry Brook to take a fine catch at second slip.

While those few minutes were the stuff of fairytales, the ICC was very unhappy about another element of Stokes’ retirement. After the news became public, England posted a video of their departing captain informing his teammates of his decision in the dressing room before the start of the day’s play.

Although the footage was seemingly released in order to give England fans an inside look at the emotion of the day, the ICC have not reacted well to it.

England In Trouble Over Stokes Retirement Announcement

In a letter sent to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), world cricket’s governing body stated that the footage broke its rules relating to international matches.

Primarily due to concerns over match fixing, no video or audio from a team dressing room is allowed to be broadcast during an ongoing match.

ICC rules state that there should be “no fixed or temporary video cameras or other recording equipment set up within any dressing room used by the teams for the purposes of broadcasting video or audio footage.”

Despite the controversy, the footage remains online and has been viewed 3.5 million times.

Ben Stokes Reacts to Retirement Rule Break

Andrew Boyers via Reuters

BBC Sport have noted that England have already been warned over breaking this rule in the past. The ECB has yet to respond to the ICC over the incident. However, Stokes himself has gone viral on social media for his two-word reaction on the situation.

The exiting skipper quote-tweeted the story, mockingly writing “sack him” as he took a light-hearted approach to the matter.

While Stokes, who has been tipped to make millions on the global T20 circuit following his international retirement, can afford to see the funny side, the same can’t be said for his former bosses.

England could face formal sanctions over the dressing room footage at a time when the Test match set-up is in a state of disarray. With just over five weeks to go until the start of a home Test series against Pakistan, no decision has been made on who will replace Stokes as captain.

Manchester United are still working to get their major summer transfer over the line despite reports the deal has been called off.

The Red Devils swiftly agreed a fee of £34million plus add-ons to sign Atalanta midfielder Ederson this summer, kicking off their business before the player flew to North America with the Brazil squad for the World Cup.

Man United chiefs then flew to the US to hold a medical with the player, but Brazil’s medical staff were present to monitor and police the testing, given they understandably wouldn’t want the player’s body to be put under any demands that would risk injury and overload during the tournament.

That seems to have complicated the deal a little, and there are reports that the deal has been called off, but Fabrizio Romano is claiming otherwise.

Romano Provides Ederson to Man Utd Update

According to transfer guru Romano, United’s stance remains the same in that they want a second medical to be held at their own base before they sign off on the deal. He said on his YouTube channel: “Ederson will undergo a medical this week, so it will be this week at Manchester United. There will be Ederson taking a medical in the UK, because Man United made the first check in the US, and they want to do more checks with their own staff in England. At the moment, the deal is still not confirmed.

“So today I can tell you, Ederson to Man United, here we go. In the sense of what I told you in June, agreement between all parties, the player is having a medical, it’s all agreed verbally, but to tell you, is Ederson to Manchester United closed, signed, completed? Not yet at this stage, not yet. And we have to be careful, because there is a medical to do in England, and Man United will then communicate to Atalanta and to the player what they feel about that medical.”

Can Man Utd afford to cancel Ederson deal?

United have already had trouble signing transfer targets this summer, missing out on Mateus Fernandes to Tottenham, and they are yet to find the marquee holding midfield signing they are looking for to replace Casemiro.

Michael Carrick wants two midfield signings this summer, and given how hard it has been to find a second, it would be a bold move to call off the deal for the first. That would leave United in a tricky position with the summer already flying by.

If there is a medical issue, then that is another question, but most fans will likely be pleased that the Red Devils will do their due diligence and that they are still planning to go ahead with the deal as long as all goes well during the medical.