Henry blames VAR inconsistency for Argentina-Egypt furore

Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry believes Egypt's heartbreaking World Cup exit to Argentina will be remembered as much for questions over VAR consistency as for the holders' stunning late comeback.

Henry said the biggest source of frustration among Egyptian supporters was not a single refereeing decision but the apparent inconsistency in how crucial incidents were reviewed.

Henry insisted the real controversy lay in the uneven application of VAR rather than differences of opinion.

“I’ve watched the replay several times, and I understand why Egypt feel frustrated. I also understand why Argentina believe the officials got the key decisions right,” Henry spoke on Fox Sports.

"The biggest issue isn't that people disagree. Football has always been full of disagreements. The real issue is consistency."

He pointed to Egypt's disallowed goal, which underwent a lengthy VAR review before eventually being ruled out. But when Egypt appealed for fouls later in the match, those appeals did not receive the same exhaustive review.

“When Egypt scored, VAR carried out a detailed review before the goal was eventually ruled out. Whether you agree with that decision or not, the process was thorough.

“The problem is that later in the match, Egypt had penalty appeals that many people expected to receive the same level of scrutiny. Instead, those moments appeared to be resolved much more quickly, and that's where supporters begin asking questions.

“If one incident receives an exhaustive review, supporters naturally expect another equally important incident to receive exactly the same attention. When that doesn't happen, controversy becomes inevitable.”

Earlier, the Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan blasted the refereeing after the match.

“What happened to us wasn’t fair. We should have had a penalty, a goal was disallowed, and I don't know why it was disallowed.

“The biggest mistake is not getting what you're entitled to from those responsible for making the decisions… I'm the type of person who hates losing. And when it's a defeat that feels unjust like today's,” he said.

In the match, Argentina bounced back from a two-goal deficit to earn a 3-2 win over Egypt to qualify for the quarterfinal, where they will face Switzerland.