Salah saw it happen live. Egypt were up 1-0 and controlling the game when VAR chalked off a Mostafa Zico strike for a foul softer than the one that went unreviewed in Argentina's box twenty minutes later. Egypt got their second goal anyway — 2-0, with eleven minutes to go. Then it all turned.
In the ten minutes that followed, two separate Egyptian penalty appeals inside Argentina's box — a shirt-pull, a foot on Salah's ankle — never made it to the pitch-side monitor. Egypt's football federation filed an official complaint over the officiating. Their own coach said afterwards he believed the officials wanted Argentina, and Messi, to keep going.
all-time WC record
waved off vs Egypt
We can't fix the whistle. Nobody can.
But if the pattern's this consistent, we know which side of it we'd rather be on. Our team backed Argentina to win the whole thing at 5.5. Whether you do too — that's on you.