Opening Doorz

“It wasn’t the hand of God. It was the hand of a rascal. God had nothing to do with it."
—Sir Bobby Robson, 1986 (England manager)

By Moody Marty | Opening Doorz Editorial | July 12, 2026

VAR “Hand of a Rascal” is Here to Aid Messi

Forty years ago, in the blistering heat of Mexico City, we watched Diego Maradona orchestrate the grandest heist in sporting history. I confess I was among those who celebrated the unadulterated genius of the man. We wrapped the deception in folklore, calling it the “Hand of God,” romanticising a blatant trick because it came with stunning skill. The second goal was the goal of the last century!

But football has outgrown its romanticism. The 2026 World Cup promised the digital eye would clean up the game. Instead, it feels as though the ghost of ’86 has been digitised. We are no longer dealing with fleeting human error on the pitch; we are witnessing cold, calculated interventions of a machine that consistently tilts the scales in favour of Lionel Messi and Argentina.

Sir Bobby’s words have taken on a disturbing new life. VAR has become the modern “hand of a rascal.”

From Atlanta to the Quarter-finals

The pattern is too glaring to ignore. Look at the path set out for the defending champions. Take the Round of 16 thriller against Egypt in Atlanta—a match where a disciplined, lethal Pharaohs side blazed into a 2-0 lead. The script was tearing at the seams. Messi even uncharacteristically missed a first-half penalty, which Mostafa Shobeir saved. Yet, when the walls moved to close in, momentum found a way to realign. Late lifelines, frantic decisions, and five Egyptian yellow cards in stoppage time ensured the inevitable: a 3-2 rescue act.

That story has been dissected, and the VAR robbery highlighted. One would have thought we’d see a sanitised quarter-final. That was not to be. It was the clash against Switzerland where the “rascal” once again showed its hand, or in this case, reared its ugly head.

The Swiss Subversion: The Dismissal of Embolo

The tournament demanded a blockbuster semi-final, and Switzerland’s Dan Ndoye threatened to ruin it when he scored a beautiful equaliser in the 67th minute. Argentina were rattled. The scales balanced, even tilted in Switzerland’s favour. Then in the 72nd minute, Breel Embolo drove forward, tangling with Leandro Paredes. On the field, the referee did what referees have done for a century: made a subjective, live-action assessment. He booked Paredes. It was a standard footballing sequence.

But the silent operators in the VAR booth couldn’t let the game breathe. They intervened to scrutinise the micro-physics of contact. They unpicked the referee’s on-field authority, rescinded Paredes’ booking, and aggressively penalised Embolo for simulation. A second yellow. A red card.

Where was this hyper-vigilant forensic science during the group stages when Messi caught Algeria’s Aïssa Mandi with his studs? There, the booth remained silent, hiding behind the subjective shield of “intent vs. momentum.” But for Embolo, there was no nuance. The red card wiped out Switzerland’s midfield resistance, allowing Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez to stroll through an exhausted ten-man defence in extra time to seal a 3-1 victory. It was a smart, sterile way of designing a tournament—immaculate rigging wrapped in the rulebook.

The Precedent of Qatar 2022, the Blueprint of Favouritism

To understand the seething anger surrounding this current tournament, one must look back to the winter of 2022 in Qatar. The modern suspicion that FIFA operates on a deterministic “Messi script” didn’t begin with Switzerland or Egypt; it was codified during Argentina’s run to their third star.

In 2022, the Albiceleste were awarded a staggering five penalties in seven matches—the most any nation has ever received in a single World Cup history. From the soft opening game spot-kick against Saudi Arabia to the highly debated Wojciech Szczęsny “follicle graze” against Poland, to the semi-final against Croatia, and the critical final opener against France, the whistle consistently blew in one direction.

For critics and purists, Qatar 2022 came across less like a sporting competition and more like a Lifetime Achievement Award facilitated by the officiating apparatus. When any elite side takes a 1-0 lead from a penalty in nearly every knockout round, tactical genius becomes secondary to institutional momentum. It established a dangerous precedent: a common understanding that when stakes are highest, the benefit of the doubt gravitates toward the tournament’s most lucrative marketing asset.

The ghosts of Doha and Mexico City are pulling the same strings, arranging the platform for a semi-final where England must wrestle not just eleven men, but the very mechanism of modern football itself.

Forty years after Mexico City, the game hasn’t actually changed—it has just evolved. It appears Argentina is now scoring goals with the hand of VAR and the head of FIFA.

1986 Demands an Answer

No soccer fan has forgotten Mexico 1986. Some still rave about Maradona’s genius. But the purists have had enough of FIFA pulling the wool over their eyes. The establishment protected the narrative then, and the digital establishment protects it now. But history is cyclical. By engineering this deterministic path, VAR and FIFA have set up the ultimate reckoning. On Thursday in Atlanta, Argentina will step onto the pitch for the semi-final. Waiting for them will be England.

This isn’t just a key battle for a spot in the final; it is a date with destiny. It is the ultimate chance to set the ledger straight for Robson, for Shilton’s lifelong grudge, for Butcher’s fury, and for every football fan who is tired of watching the “modern rascals” pull the strings from behind a monitor. England has the chance to do what the technology refuses to do: beat Argentina on grass, fair and square, and finally break the spell. Because forty years after Mexico City, the game hasn’t actually changed—it has just evolved.

It appears Argentina is now scoring goals with the hand of VAR and the head of FIFA.

[Moody Marty: Sometimes funny, sometimes informative, always downright forthright!]

Also Read

FIFA’s Foul Play: Death of the Beautiful Game

Jemimah Rodrigues: Strength Forged in Fire!