Roy Keane Defends Argentina & Lionel Messi As FBI Investigates World Cup Referee Controversy

Argentina's thrilling comeback victory over Egypt in the Round of 16 will go down as one of the greatest comebacks in World Cup history, but the dramatic win has also been overshadowed by controversy.

After Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan accused the FIFA World Cup of being rigged following the match, Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates found themselves at the center of controversy, with rival fans accusing the match officials of showing clear bias after several questionable decisions during the game.

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One of those came while Egypt were leading 1-0. Mostafa Ziko appeared to score a crucial second goal, but VAR intervened to rule it out, calling a minor foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martínez during the buildup more than 100 yards away at the opposite end of the field.

In the dying minutes of the match, Egypt also strongly appealed for a penalty when Mohamed Salah went down in the box and Hamdy Fathy had his jersey pulled by Alexis Mac Allister while away from the ball.

In response, the referee instead waved play on without a VAR review, and Argentina immediately launched a counterattack that ended with Enzo Fernández scoring the 92nd-minute winner.

As if the controversy surrounding the Egypt match was not enough, Argentina were soon hit by another setback after reports emerged that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Justice had launched a financial crimes investigation into the Argentine Football Association over alleged money laundering, bank fraud, and tax evasion involving more than $300 million.

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The federal probe is focused on claims that the AFA, led by president Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia, routed hundreds of millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system.

Amid these controversies, Argentina have found support from an unexpected voice, with former Roy Keane backing Lionel Messi and his teammates following the result.

Roy Keane Backs Argentina

Addressing the accusations on the officials, Keane admitted that bigger teams often seem to benefit from key decisions, but insisted that they should not take away from Argentina's remarkable comeback.

This comes after Keane's former United teammate Gary Neville claimed that Argentina couldn't continue riding their luck.

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"When you watch them against Cape Verde, you watch them against Egypt, and they're not the two best teams in the competition, you think there's no way this team can continue to go on riding their luck..." said Neville on the defending champions' narrow wins in their last two matches.

Keane on the other hand credited Argentina for pulling off the comeback.

"Sometimes the bigger teams do seem to get the benefit of decisions, but that shouldn't take away from what Argentina have achieved here with only 10-11 minutes to go," he said.

He further added that Argentina's quality and achievements speak for themselves.

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"Decisions can go for and against you, and most of the big teams seem to get the benefit in decisions like that. But what they've achieved, and the quality they've got, is amazing."

Argentina will face Switzerland next in the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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