The FIFA World Cup 2026 has been nothing short of a magnificent spectacle of some of the finest football being played. But it has also served as a massive flashpoint for how technology is reshaping the game. From Davinson Sanchez’s stoppage-time winner for Colombia against Portugal being called off because of an offside ‘toe’, to Ghana being denied a clear penalty against England because the foul wasn’t deemed a “clear and obvious” error, the tournament has been defined by a glaring clash between automated offside lines and human judgment calls by the referees. In an exclusive interaction with Sports Now, former India striker and current expert with Zee5 for the FIFA World Cup 2026, Robin Singh, weighed in his thoughts about the use of VAR and the controversial refereeing in this tournament.
The Argentina Vs Egypt Conundrum
This VAR drama at the FIFA World Cup 2026 reached an absolute boiling point during Argentina’s dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over Egypt in the Round of 16. Egypt led 2-0, only for Mostafa Ziko to have a crucial goal ruled out by VAR for a foul in the build-up. Argentina subsequently scored three times in the final 11 minutes. The final goal scored by Enzo Fernandez also came under scrutiny as replays showed that Mohamed Salah might have been tripped by Julian Alvarez in the opposite box, that might have led to a penalty. This sparked fury in the Egyptian camp, with many calling the game rigged towards Argentina.
Robin Singh, too, thought that the possible penalty on Mohamed Salah should have been checked.
“I think every decision that does not get given to your team it’s unfair. That’s the universal law of football. Your team is never making mistakes. But at the same time, VAR has to be fair. I just feel that whether it was a foul or not, it should have been checked in the Egypt game. That it was not checked, it’s okay,” Singh said.
While the debate raged over the refereeing in Atlanta, Robin Singh believed that Egypt lacked the footballing quality as they should never have squandered the comfortable two-goal lead in the first place.
“We have, as footballers, been in games without the VAR where a referee makes mistakes,” Singh pointed out.
“But that’s where you have to take a step back and just say, ‘This game is not going to get to me. This game is not going to go in my favour.’ That means I have to buckle down, pull my socks up higher, and push more. Because take the VAR decision out, three goals in 10 minutes! How is that possible? The decision is not made for you, right? Suck it up. Let’s go. Let’s move forward. Take a deep breath, make sure you’re focused, concentrated, and defend that two-goal lead,” the former striker added.
The ‘Slow Motion’ Distortion
The penalty box is naturally a place of pushing, shoving, and wrestling for space. To Robin Singh, the biggest flaw with modern VAR isn’t that cameras are watching- it’s how that slow-motion footage is used against players.
Take the USA’s Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. American striker Folarin Balogun stepped on a defender’s ankle in a collision that looked innocent in real-time. But when slowed down frame-by-frame on the VAR monitor, it looked horrific, resulting in a straight red card. We saw the exact same thing happen to England’s Jarell Quansah against Mexico: a standard no-call was upgraded to a red card once the referee watched the slow-motion replay.
“Everything on replay looks like the end of the world because it’s in slow motion,” Robin Singh said.
“Yes, you see the contact, but also at the same time, maybe look at it in real time. If someone’s stronger than you, you’re going to get bullied, whether you like it or not. That’s where the implementation has to have an understanding. You can’t implement a rule without understanding,” he added.
‘Lack Of Technology Helps Create Hand Of God-Like Moment’
Despite the debate over whether technology has hampered football, Robin Singh does not advocate for stripping it out completely. Instead, he pointed out that there are some exceptional rules introduced that does keep the game fair. In fact, he said that with technology now, we can also avoid unfair goals like Diego Maradona’s iconic ‘Hand Of God’ in the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
“The new modern rules are also helping the game. I think the five-second rule for throw-ins is brilliant; we’ve all seen games where players refuse to pick the ball up. It’s only fair for the referee to say, ‘Alright, you don’t want to start the game? They will,” Robin Singh said.
“Technology helps when an iconic goal hits the crossbar, crosses the line, comes back out, and isn’t given. But then, a lack of it also creates iconic moments like the ‘Hand of God.’ It’s something you have to adapt to,” the former striker added.
