Two days after Argentina’s dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Egypt in the World Cup round of 16, the storm surrounding the match has still not calmed down online.
After Egyptian fans claimed they were robbed and accused FIFA President Gianni Infantino of favoring Argentina and Lionel Messi, conspiracy theories on social media expanded and found a new target: Israel.
Lionel Messi
(Photo: REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli)
A video from Argentine President Javier Milei’s visit to Israel has been circulating on X. In the clip, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is seen speaking alongside Milei.
In the short video, Sa’ar appears to ask Milei to “bring Argentina its fourth World Cup trophy.” The user who posted the clip added: “Argentina is literally the Israel of football. Israel’s foreign minister promised the World Cup to Argentina.”
The same user also added a false claim that Milei is the cousin of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Another account called PalMedia, which has more than 100,000 followers, posted a viral video from the end of the match. In the clip, a fan wearing an Argentina shirt is seen waving an Israeli flag toward Egypt coach Hossam Hassan, who responded angrily and appeared to make a spitting gesture in his direction.
The video was posted with the caption: “Argentina plays for Israel.”
Another clip posted online showed three IDF soldiers jumping in celebration after one of Argentina’s goals. The user who uploaded it wrote: “And they still have the absolute nerve to deny that Argentina represents Zionism. It glorifies the Israeli army committing genocide, it glorifies Netanyahu, it glorifies Peru — what a headache.”
The online fury did not stop there.
One of the main targets of criticism in Egypt and across the Arab world has been French referee François Letexier, who officiated the Argentina-Egypt match.
Several users edited Letexier’s Wikipedia page and added false information claiming that he is Jewish. The addition was later removed, but screenshots of the page before the deletion spread widely online and were used as supposed “proof” that the match had been fixed.
The main complaint against Letexier centered on Egypt’s disallowed goal, which was ruled out because of a foul earlier in the move. Egyptian fans contrasted that decision with the approval of Argentina’s third goal, claiming that Mohamed Salah had also been fouled at the start of that move.
Former referee and FIFA referees committee chairman Pierluigi Collina backed Letexier’s decisions, saying the referee was correct both to disallow Egypt’s goal and to allow Argentina’s winner.
But online, the refereeing debate quickly turned into something broader, with Israel, Zionism and antisemitic claims pushed into the center of a soccer controversy that began with Egypt’s World Cup elimination.