Why We Love Messi but Have Issues with Argentina

While Lionel Messi is loved by many, the team he leads has become the least trusted at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Argentina is one match away from defending their World Cup title, but as they prepare for Sunday’s final against Spain, the mood is not happy; it's filled with doubt. Messi is adored worldwide for being humble and talented. Still, the team he leads has been mocked online as “VARgentina.” A petition asking for Argentina’s removal has gathered millions of signatures. In Chile, two-thirds of people believe the referees have favored Argentina throughout the tournament.

People love Messi but dislike the team he plays for.

One Call That Actually Helped Argentina

Early in the tournament, one incident did go in Argentina's favor, though it has not received much attention. During the group stage match against Algeria, Messi stepped on Algerian captain Aissa Mandi's calf. Under the laws of serious foul play, this could have led to a red card. No card was given, and Messi finished the match with three goals.

According to Archivo VAR, a group monitoring officiating decisions, this was the only favorable call for Argentina in the entire tournament. By their count, Argentina faced the wrong end of five out of six major decisions reviewed, and three of those needed VAR to fix an earlier mistake.

Egypt: Where the Controversy Began

The real drama started in the Round of 16 against Egypt. With 11 minutes left and Egypt leading 1-0, Egyptian midfielder Mostafa Zico scored a goal that was disallowed by VAR for a slight foul in the buildup. Marwan Attia was penalized for clipping Lisandro Martínez’s foot. Egypt's coach, Hossam Hassan, was angry and said he saw no fairness in that decision.

Things got worse in the 91st and 92nd minutes. Just before Enzo Fernandez scored Argentina’s winning goal, Egypt had two penalty appeals turned down. First, Alexis Mac Allister appeared to pull down Hamdi Fathi in the box, and then Mohamed Salah fell after colliding with Julian Alvarez. Referee François Letexier let play continue, and VAR did not step in.

Egypt’s football federation made an official complaint, claiming officials made serious mistakes. Hassan suggested that FIFA wanted to keep Messi and the champions in the tournament. FIFA firmly disagreed. Refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina defended the no-call on Salah. FIFA president Gianni Infantino stated he rewatched the footage many times and found nothing wrong. Despite that, Argentina's comeback now has a shadow over it.

Switzerland and the Card That Changed Everything

If Egypt started the fire, the quarter-final against Switzerland is where it really exploded. The score was 1-1 in the 67th minute when Leandro Paredes was given a yellow card for a tackle on Breel Embolo. VAR then looked at the situation under a new rule called “mistaken identity.” Instead of just changing the card to the right player, the referee reversed the whole decision, booking Embolo for diving. Since Embolo had already been booked, he was sent off. Switzerland ended up losing 3-1 in extra time.

Swiss coach Murat Yakin was critical, calling the rule that eliminated his team “unacceptable.” Captain Granit Xhaka said it changed the game’s outcome. Even neutral analysts were uncomfortable with the decision. Former FIFA referee Christina Unkel said the protocol seemed to have been stretched too far, effectively changing the call after the fact. She added that faith in officiating had taken a serious hit.

Fernandez Missed Caution

This was the setting for the heated semi-final against England. Just three minutes in, Enzo Fernández hit Elliot Anderson with an elbow to the back of the head. Referee Ismail Elfath did not show a card, thinking it was just a natural collision.

The inconsistency was frustrating. Minutes earlier, Jude Bellingham had taken an elbow from Paredes with no card issued. Yet a similar situation between Anderson and Messi led to a yellow for Anderson. Former English refereeing chief Keith Hackett said Elfath needed to control the match better. To make matters worse, Fernández scored Argentina’s equalizer, and Lautaro Martínez won it deep into stoppage time. For an already frustrated English media and public, this only fueled theories of bias.

What the Numbers Show

Northeastern University’s sports analytics team looked at VAR intervention rates for every team in the tournament. Argentina came out as the second-highest team benefiting from VAR calls and hadn’t had a single VAR decision go against them through the Round of 16. Only Mexico, as co-host, had a better record. Croatia and Iran faced poor decisions throughout their campaigns. Researchers warned that these statistics only show fouls caught by VAR, not any bias, but the pattern is hard to ignore.

Some trends come from real rule changes for 2026, which added VAR for mistaken-identity cases and wrongly given second yellows. The mistaken-identity rule seems to have been applied before everyone understood its limits.

The Final as a Test

Argentina now faces a Spanish team that has been almost unbeatable defensively, giving up very few goals in seven matches. This Spanish squad is built on structure rather than individual talent.

Messi’s Argentina is different: chaotic, full of genius, and a trail of controversial decisions. What happened may hold up under strict rulebook rules, but most people don’t care about technicalities. Some have even framed Sunday’s final as a clash between order and chaos.

In the end, it comes down to a simple and uncomfortable split: Messi is the artist everyone loves, while Argentina is the team many think should play fair. It is possible to feel both ways. On Sunday, as Argentina tries to win back-to-back titles, many neutral fans will just hope their run of good luck finally ends.