As one of India’s most prominent sports journalists, Nikhil Naz is no stranger to trolls. Getting abused by fans on social media after each television debate on cricket, especially when fierce rivals India and Pakistan lock horns in the ICC World Cups, has become an unavoidable part of his life.
But last Wednesday, Naz was taken aback by the intensity of hateful comments directed at him after his debate with fellow panelists over the controversial Fifa World Cup match between Argentina and Egypt.
Naz, who had covered the 2022 Qatar World Cup, made his point on the referee and the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) and why the match officials, according to him, had been harshly targeted — even their integrity being questioned — after the Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina fought back from 2-0 down in the 79th minute, scoring three goals in the space of 14 dramatic minutes, to win a nerve-racking round of 16 clash.
Going by the FIFA rule books, Naz said, not a single decision taken by the match officials — the foul on the Argentina player in the build-up to Egypt’s disallowed goal in the second half and ignoring the Egyptian penalty appeal — was wrong.
“There was a clear-cut foul on the Argentina player before Egypt’s goal which was disallowed. People say the referee is biased, but the referee didn’t even see the foul; it was the VAR officials that alerted him, and the goal was disallowed after that,” he said.
“Then you have the Mo Salah incident. If you look at it again carefully, he loses possession of the ball. When he falls, the ball is already out of his control. The defender has taken the ball away from him, Salah trips on his foot. It’s a soft touch. It’s not a foul. That’s why Salah does not even appeal for a penalty. He knows he went down on his own. He doesn’t appeal. The appeal from the Egyptian players starts after Argentina scored!”
Debating over such delicate moments in sports is his job, which often invites an avalanche of trolls, especially when India and Pakistan’s cricket teams clash in World Cups.
But his comments on the refereeing controversy in a football World Cup have now led fans to call him a Messi fan masquerading as a journalist.
Part of the reason for the narrative that FIFA and referees always favour Argentina is Messi’s two-decade-long rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo in the so-called GOAT race.
This is primarily the reason Naz was subjected to brutal trolls last Wednesday, the intensity of which was almost as high as the abuse he gets during India-Pakistan cricket matches.
“It’s very difficult to quantify trolling, but the trolling during an India-Pakistan cricket match is roughly the same as what we saw during this football debate,” he said.
“So, while India may not be a footballing powerhouse, a lot of Indians do watch football, and even if they’re casual football watchers, Messi and Ronaldo are household names. You already know that when Messi came to India earlier this year, the entire country went crazy, and I’m sure it would be the same if Ronaldo ever came to India.”
The trolls also raised Naz’s curiosity as he scrolled down to see the comments. Most of the people who had abused him had Ronaldo pictures or emblems of Real Madrid or Manchester United — the clubs Ronaldo famously played for — on their social media pages.
Remarkably, there was one key difference: the India-Pakistan cricket trolling is limited to northern and northwestern parts of India, but the Argentina-Egypt debate sparked by the Ronaldo-Messi rivalry was “evenly spread out”.
“I’d say there was another part of the country that got really involved, which is the eastern part of the country, like the northeastern states. I saw a lot of participation of trolls from there as well,” he said.
“But in terms of the number of trolls, it was roughly the same as an India-Pakistan cricket match.”
Now coming back to the controversy over FIFA’s alleged Argentina bias, Naz is surprised how not many experts and fans were debating with the same intensity over some other VAR decisions in the World Cup.
“There have been multiple VAR controversies in this World Cup. The Croatia game against Portugal, we saw a goal from Josko Gvardiol was disallowed by VAR for a minor touch. There was Harry Kane’s penalty which was not given in the match against Congo,” he said.
“VAR got involved in multiple games. There was the Belgium penalty (in the 125th minute) against Senegal, which also caused controversy and ended Senegal’s hopes of taking the game to the penalty shootout.
“So, we had seen multiple issues, but nothing blew up like this (Argentina-Egypt game). And I go back to the crux because there are either Messi lovers or Messi haters.
“I know Fifa has never covered themselves in glory. But to say they favour one team over the other is really taking it a bit too far.
“If Fifa is always so desperate for Argentina to win, then those penalties in the 2022 World Cup final wouldn’t have gone France’s way. Argentina were anyway leading in that match, but those two penalties were given to France, right?
“So, there is no substantial proof to prove and say that Fifa favours Argentina or Messi. I mean, this is at best a conspiracy theory.”
The Fifa-Argentina conspiracy theories gained momentum after the South Americans won the 2022 World Cup, with Messi finally lifting the big trophy that has eluded Ronaldo.
But Alejandro Magdaleno, a veteran Argentine sports journalist who is now covering the 2026 World Cup, says Messi doesn’t need any outside help to prove himself as one of the greatest players of all time.
“Messi earns his advantages himself, and he’s proving it again in this (2026) World Cup as well. He doesn’t need anyone’s help,” he said.
“He has scored eight goals in five matches, despite missing two penalties that were awarded for clear fouls.”
Jorge Ferrari, a veteran UAE-based Argentine sports photographer, says opinions of people cannot be taken seriously.
“You have to ask who these people making these claims are. Once you put that into perspective, you realise they are often just individuals expressing opinions,” he said.
“The biggest problem with these conspiracy theories is that they cannot be proved. There is no evidence that Fifa favoured Argentina or Messi. At the same time, those making the accusations cannot prove their claims either. It is all speculation.”
Ferrari then empathised with Nikhil Naz for facing online abuse after his comments on television about the Argentina-Egypt VAR decisions.
“It’s sad when you hear about this Indian journalist. The level of hate he is getting is just silly and sad. I mean, it’s only a game at the end of the day,” he said.
“Look, I am an Argentine, I love Messi, but I also like Ronaldo. If some people love one and hate the other, they are not real football fans.
“I have enjoyed watching Ronaldo all these years, and of course, when somebody asks me, I will always choose Messi. But it doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate what Ronaldo can do or what he has achieved.”
Fans, Ferrari said, should rise above their team loyalties and appreciate the two truly incredible gifts the sport has given this world in the form of Messi and Ronaldo.
“Whoever didn’t feel sad a few days ago when Ronaldo bid farewell to the World Cup is not a football fan in my good book,” he said.
“The whole football world should recognise him, as well as Leo. We will probably never see two phenomenal players at the same time!”
Source: Khaleej Times